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1906 


UC-NRLF 


POCUMENTS 
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DOCUMENTS 
DEFT. 


REPORTS 


;iSTING  WATER-POWER   SITUATION  AT   NIAGARA 
FALLS,  SO  FAR  AS  CONCERNS  THE  DIVERSION 
OF  WATER  ON  THE  AMERICAN  SIDE, 


BY  THE 


AMERICAN  MEMBERS  OF  THE 

INTERNATIONAL  WATERWAYS  COMMISSION 

U- — *"  " 


AND 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  W.  KUTZ, 

Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING   OFFICE. 
1906. 


Pioperty  oi  the  United  States  Governm 
REPORTS 


UPON  THE 


EXISTING  WATER-POWER   SITUATION  AT  NIAGARA 

FALLS,  SO  FAR  AS  CONCERNS  THE  DIVERSION 

OF  WATER  ON  THE  AMERICAN  SIDE, 


BY  THE 


AMERICAN  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
INTERNATIONAL  WATERWAYS  COMMISSION 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  W.  KUTZ, 

Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING  OFFICE. 
1906. 


DOCUMENT! 

DEPT 


WAR  DAPARTMENT, 

**•       •»• 

e«1>  Ko*  2|9. 
.Qhief  Qf  ^ngip.eers. 


REPORTS  UPON  THE  EXISTING  WlTEH-PdWER  SITUA- 
TION AT  NIAGARA  FALLS,  SO  FAR  AS  CONCERNS  THE 
DIVERSION  OF  WATER  ON  THE  AMERICAN  SIDE. 


REPORT  BY  THE  AMERICAN  MEMBERS  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  WATER- 
WAYS COMMISSION. 

INTERNATIONAL  WATERWAYS  COMMISSION, 

OFFICE  OF  AMERICAN  SECTION, 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  November  15,  1906. 

Mr.  SECRETARY:  The  American  members  of  the  International 
Waterways  Commission  have  the  honor  to  return  herewith  the 
report,  dated  October  5,  1906,  by  Capt.  Charles  W.  Kutz,  Corps  of 
Engineers,  U.  S.  Army,  upon  the  subject  of  permits  for  diverting 
water  on  the  American  side  at  Niagara  Falls,  referred  to  them  by 
your  indorsement  of  October  13. 

In  our  report0  dated  September  29,  1906,  we  gave  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  four  kinds  of  permits  authorized  by  the  act  approved 
June  29,  1906,  and  we  concurred  in  the  recommendations  contained 
in  Captain  Kutz's  report0  of  August  15,  1906,  which  referred  to  per- 
mits of  the  third  kind,  or  those  for  transmitting  electrical  power  from 
Canada  into  the  United  States  to  the  aggregate  amount  of  160,000 
horsepower.  The  report  by  Captain  Kutz  now  under  consideration 
refers  to  permits  of  the  first  kind,  or  those  for  diverting  water  from 
the  Niagara  River  on  the  American  side  to  an  aggregate  amount  not 
exceeding  15,600  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  conditions  prescribed  in  the  law  for  this  kind  of  permits  are 
that— 

1.  Thev  must  be  issued  "to  individuals,  companies,  or  corpora- 
tions which  are  now  actual!;-  producing  power  from  the  waters  of 
said  river  or  its  tributaries  in  the  State  of  New  York  or  from  the 
Erie  Canal." 

2.  The  amount  of  water  to  be  allowed  must  not  exceed  that  "now 
actuall^  in  use  or  contracted  to  be  used  in  factories  the  buildings 
for  which  are  now  in  process  of  construction." 

3.  The  amount  to  be  allowed  "to  any  one  individual,  company,  or 
corporation  as  aforesaid"   must  not  exceed  8,600  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

4.  The  total  amount  to  be  allowed  "to  all  individuals,  companies, 
or  corporations  as  aforesaid"  must  not  exceed  an  aggregate  of  15,600 
cubic  feet  pei  second. 

Applications  have  been  received  from  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  for  a  permit  to  divert  8,600  cubic  feet  per  second,  from  the 

a  Printed  in  War  Department  Document  No.  284,  Office  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers. 

M90907 


4       REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company  for  a 
permit  v to  divert  6,400  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  from  numerous 
indusi'ftes  ai ;  Lockr-crt  and  at  Medina,  using  small  quantities  of 
water  from  the  Erie  Canal. 

A  After :aj6kTeftil  examination  of  all  the  circumstances  which  should 
^aSf^ot)  a.xfecision  '.a?  to  the  amount  of  water  to  be  allowed  under  the 
act,  including  the  capital  invested,  the  present  capacity  of  the  works 
and  their  present  output,  the  quantity  of  water  now  actually  in  use, 
the  contracts  made  for  furnishing  power,  with  the  dates  of  such  con- 
tracts, the  future  capacity  of  the  works  as  projected,  and  the  charter 
rights  under  New  York  State  law,  Captain  Kutz  reaches  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  permit  should  be  granted  to  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  for  the  maximum  amount  allowed,  viz,  8,600  cubic  feet  per 
second.  He  finds  that  the  company  and  its  tenants  have  that 
amount  actually  in  use  and  may  reasonably  ask  for  the  whole  of  H, 
and  in  that  opinion  we  concur.  Pie  is  in  doubt  whether  it  should 
include  the  water  which  is  occasionally  used  for  sluicing  debris  and 
ice.  The  amount  of  this  is  not  accurately  known,  but  it  is  esti- 
mated at  between  600  and  700  cubic  feet  per  second  during  the 
sluicing  process.  It  is  used  only  intermittently.  The  total  amount 
thus  used  in  a  year  would,  if  distributed  throughout  the  year,  be  but 
a  small  average  per  second.  The  law  is  explicit  in  prohibiting  a 
permit  for  any  amount  whatever  in  excess  of  8,600  cubic  feet  per 
second,  but  it" seems  a  reasonable  interpretation  to  take  that  as  the 
general  average  and  to  allow  the  company  to  use  a  slightly  less 
amount  during  the  greater  part  of  the  rear  in  order  to  accumulate 
enough  water  to  supply  the  demands  of  sluicing  upon  the  occasions 
when  it  is  needed. 

After  a  similar  careful  examination  of  all  the  circumstances  relat- 
ing to  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Captain  Kutz  reaches  the  conclusion  that  a  permit  should  be 
granted  that  company  for  the  diversion  of  5,743  cubic  feet  per  second, 
exclusive  of  the  amount  required  for  sluicing,  or  for  6,403  cubic  feet 
per  second  if  the  water  for  sluicing  be  included.  The  latter  is  esti- 
mated at  660  cubic  feet  per  second.  It  seems  to  us  desirable  that 
the  permits  to  the  two  companies  should  resemble  each  other  in  their 
provisions  for  sluicing.  If  to  the  5,743  cubic  feet  per  second  just 
mentioned  there  be  added  107  cubic  feet  per  second  as  an  average 
for  sluicing,  an  allowance  will  be  made  for  the  accumulation  of  water 
which  will  provide  660  cubic  feet  per  second  for  sluicing  during  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  and  two-thirds  hours  of  each  month,  or  fifty- 
nine  days  in  each  year,  an  allowance  which  is  ample.  Under  this 
arrangement  the  amount  to  be-  granted  to  this  company  for  the  use 
of  itself  and  its  tenants  would  be  5,850  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  industries  using  water  from  the  Erie  Canal  are  numerous,  and 
the  quantity  of  water  diverted  is  comparatively  small.  At  Lockport 
27  persons  or  corporations  are  using  water  taken  either  from  the 
upper  or  the  lower  level.  It  is  understood  that  most  of  the  water 
from  the  upper  level  is  returned  to  the  canal;  but  the  arrangement 
of  tunnels  is  such  that  the  water  has  two  outlets,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  what  portion  is  permanently  diverted  into  Eighteen- 
mile  Creek.  Many  of  these  industries  are  located  one  below  the  other 
on  Eighteenmile  Creek,  and  use  the  same  water  successively,  taking 
it  from  the  lower  level.  The  quantity  of  water  permanently  diverted 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        5 

from  the  canal  at  Lockport  is  found  from  measurements  taken  above 
and  below  all  diversions  to  be  upon  an  average  193  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

Industries  at  Medina,  N.  Y.,  use  about  165  cubic  feet  per  second. 
The  number  of  the  industries  is  not  given,  but  it  is  understood  that 
they  are  in  general  of  about  the  same  magnitude  as  those  at  Lockport. 

The  total  amount  of  water  diverted  from  the  Erie  Canal  is  there- 
fore 358  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  the  number  of  industries  using  it 
is  between  30  and  40.  Many  of  these  industries  have  made  appli- 
cation for  permits;  but  many  others  have  not,  and  of  those  applying 
many  use  the  water  which  has  previously  been  used  by  one  or  more 
others.  Manifestly  there  is  difficulty  in  apportioning  the  proper 
amount  among  so  great  a  number.  After  apportionment  there 
would  be  difficulty  in  the  enforcement  by  the  Federal  authority  of 
the  provisions  of  the  permits  if  granted.  The  canal  is  owned  by  and 
is  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  State 
engineer  protests  against  the  granting  by  the  United  States  of  any 
permit  which  shall  impose  an  obligation  upon  the  State.  Captain 
Kutz  suggests  that  the  difficulty  may  be  met  by  treating  all  these 
industries  as  tenants  of  the  State  and  granting  the  permit  to  the 
State,  as  it  is  proposed  to  provide  for  the  tenants  of  the  Niagara  Falls 
Power  Company  and  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and 
Manufacturing  Company  by  the  permits  of  those  companies.  He 
recommends  that  a  permit  for  the  diversion  of  358  cubic  feet  per 
second  be  granted  to  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  objections  to  this  course  are  that  the  State  of  New  York  has 
not  applied  for  a  permit  and  might  perhaps  not  be  willing  to  accept 
one,  and  it  is  a  somewhat  forced  interpretation  of  the  law  to  include 
the  State  among  the  "  individuals,  companies,  or  corporations  which 
are  now  actually  producing  power"  to  whom  the  privilege  must  be 
restricted.  It  is  our  opinion  that  the  person  first  using  the  water 
after  it  leaves  the  canal  should  have  a  permit  directly  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  and  that  persons  using  it  afterwards  may  be  allowed 
to  do  so  without  a  permit.  The  information  necessary  for  the  issu- 
ance of  these  permits  is  not  now  at  hand.  We  have  taken  steps  to 
secure  it,  and  if  the  honorable  Secretary  of  War  concurs  in  the  opinion 
just  expressed  we  propose  to  submit  a  supplementary  report  upon 
the  subject  as  soon  as  possible  hereafter. 

We  accordingly  recommend  that  permits  for  the  diversion  of 
water  from  the  Niagara  River  be  granted  to  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  for  8,600  cubic  feet  per  second  and  the  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company  for  5,850  cubic  feet 
per  second,  it  being  understood  that  these  are  average  amounts,  and 
that  the  larger  amounts  occasionally  required  for  sluicing  may  be 
accumulated  by  using  generally  smaller  amounts. 
Yours,  very  respectfully, 

O.  H.  ERNST, 

Chairman, 
GEORGE  CLINTON, 

Member. 
E.  E.  HASKELL, 

Member. 

Hon.  W.  H.  TAFT, 

Secretary  of  War. 


6       REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 
REPORT    BY    CAPT.  CHARLES    W.   KUTZ,  CORPS    OF    ENGINEERS. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
OFFICE  OF  THE  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS, 

Washington,  October  5,  1906. 

GENERAL:  1.  Referring  to  the  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
dated  July  14,  1906,  in  reference  to  the  power  situation  at  Niagara 
Falls,  and  to  the  report  dated  August  15,  1906,  in  reference  to  the 
Canadian  power  companies,  ar.d  their  associated  transmission  corn- 
paries,  I  now  have  the  honor  to  submit  a  report  in  reference  to  those 
companies  seeking  permits  to  divert  water  on  the  American  side. 

2.  The  law  limits  the  present  granting  of  permits  for  diversion  to 
those  individuals,  companies,  or  corporations  which  are  now  using 
water  for  power  purposes  from  the  Niagara  River,  or  its  tributaries, 
or  from  the  Erie  Canal. 

3.  The  only  companies  coming  within  the  scope  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress  are   the   Niagara   Falls   Power  Company,   the   Niagara   Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company,  and  numerous  small 
industries  at  Lockport  and  at  Medina,  N.  f. 

4.  Upon  request,  the  two  large  companies  prepared  specific  replies 
in  writing  to  each  of  the  questions  propounded  by  the  Secretary  of 
War.  and  copies  of  these  replies  are  appended  hereto,  marked  Appendix 
I  and  Appendix  J. 

THE    NIAGARA    FALLS    POWER    COMPANY. 

5.  This  company  was  created,  organized,  and  continued  by  six  acts 
of  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  as  follows :  Chapter  83  of 
laws  of  1886,  chapter  489  of  the  laws  of  1886,  chapter  109  of  the  laws 
of  1889,  chapter  253  of  the  laws  of  1891,  chapter  513  of  the  laws  of 
1892,  and  chapter  477  of  the  laws  of  1893.     In  section  2  of  one  of  these 
acts  (chapter  513,  laws  of  1892)  it  is  provided— 

that  nothing  contained  therein  or  in  any  of  the  former  acts  concerning  said  corpora- 
tion shall  be  so  construed  as  to  confer  an  exclusive  right  nor  any  right  to  infringe  upon 
the  State  reservation,  or  to  obstruct  the  navigation  of  the  Niagara  River,  or  to  take 
therefrom  more  water  than  shall  be  sufficient  to  produce  two  hundred  thousand  effect- 
ive horse  power. 

6.  The  general  construction  adopted  by  this  company  for  utilizing 
the  energy  of  the  Falls  is  as  follows :  A  short  canal  has  been  excavated 
at  a  point  about  1  mile  above  the  Falls  on  the  American  side,  its  direc- 
tion being  approximately  at  right  angles  to  the  river;  this  canal  is  250 
feet  wide  at  the  mouth,  narrowing  to  100  feet  at  its  upper  end;  its 
depth  is  about  12  feet.     Two  powerhouses  have  been  constructed  on 
opposite  sides  of  this  canal.     The  water  is  carried  by  the  means  of 
pe:  stocks  to  the  turbi:  es  which  are  i:  stalled  rear  the  bottom  of  the 
two  wheel  pits  under  the  two  respective  power  houses.     After  leaving 
the  turbines  the  water  is  discharged  into  a  horseshoe-shaped  tunnel 
with  an  area  equivalent  to  that  of  a  circle  21  feet  in  diameter,  which 
carries  it  to  the  lower  river,  a  distance  of  about  7,000  feet. 

7.  In  powerhouse  No.  1  the  turbines  discharge  their  water  into  the 
tailrace  openly  without  draft  tubes.    In  power  house  No.  2  draft  tubes 
are  used,  making  the  theoretical  effective  head    144   feet  in  power 
house  No.  2  as  agai:  st  136  feet  in  power  house  No.  1.     These  powei 
houses  have  a  combined  generator  capacity  of  105,000  horsepower. 


KEPOKT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        7 

8.  In  addition  to  the  above,  water  is  supplied  from  the  intake  canal 
to  the  Irter:  ational  Paper  Company  and  to  the  pumping  plant  of  the 
Niagara  Falls  Water  Works  Company. 

9.  As  a  result  of  more  or  less  recent  tests  made  by  the  engineers  of 
the  power  company,  it  was  determined  that  an  average  in  the  two 
power  houses  of  0.101  cubic  foot  of  water  per  second  was  required  to 
develop  1  electrical  horsepower  at  the  switch  board.     If  this  deter- 
mination is  correct,  the  development  of  100,000  electrical  horsepower, 
the  nominal  capacity  of  the  plant,  would  require  10,100  cubic  feet  of 
water  per  second.     This  amount  exceeds  by  1,500  cubic  feet  the 
amount  computed  as  necessary  under  the  assumed  efficiency  of  the 
turbines   and    the    theoretical   effective   heads  noted   above.     This 
difference  is  due  to  certain  defects  in  the  design,  the  tail  water  in  the 
two  wheel   pits   standing  at  such  a  level  as  to  materially  affect  the 
effective  head. 

10.  The  plant  of  the  International  Paper  Company,  one  of  the 
power  company's  tenants,  consists  of  6  turbines,  each  rated  1,600 
horsepower,  and  2  centrifugal  pumps,  representing  about  69  horse- 
power.    The  amount  of  water  used  by  this  company  was  determined 
by  test  made  in  1904,  usir-g  a  current  meter  placed  at  various  points 
in  a  given  cross  section  of  the  paper  mills  headrace.     These  meas- 
urements were  taken  with  an  average  of  87  per  cent  of  gate  opening, 
ard  showed  a  flow  of  about  660  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  about  750 
cubic  feet  per  second  with  full  gate  opening. 

11.  The  hydraulic  plant  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Water  Works  Com- 
pany consists  of  two  Pelton  water  wheels,  each  rated  at  400  effective 
horsepower,  and  the  amount  of  water  used  does  not  exceed  75  cubic 
feet  per  second.     The   officers  of    the  Niagara  Falls    Power  Com- 
pany are  of  the  opi  ion  that  the  use  of  water  by  the  Water  Works 
Company  for  developing  power  to  run  their  pumps  is  exempted  from 
the  prohibition  of  diversion  on  the  ground  that  it  is  indirectly  used 
for  domestic  and  sanitary  purposes. 

12.  Deducting  the  amounts  used  by  its  tenant  companies,  825 
cubic  feet  per  second,  from  the  maximum  amount  for  which  a  permit 
can  now  be  granted  to  any  ore  individual,  company,  or  corporation, 
that  is,  8,600  cubic  feet  per  second,  there  remains  7,775  cubic  feet  a 
second  for  use  in  the  power  plant.     Agam,  deducting  the  amount 
used  in  the  exciter  turbines,  stated  to  be  35  cubic  feet  per  second, 
and  usr~g  the  ratio  obtained  from  the  company's  tests  above  men- 
tioned, the  maximum  electrical  output  of  this  company  is  limited  by 
law  for  the  present  to  76,630  electrical  horsepower. 

13.  This  limitation  does  not  take  rito  cor  sideration  the  water  that 
is  occasionally  used  for  sluicing  debris  and  ice,  the  amount  of  which 
is  not  known.     It  is  questionable  whether  water  used  for  this  pur- 
pose should  be  included  in  that  for  which  a  permit  is  considered  nec- 
essary.    Such  use  is  intermittent,  and  it  is  practically  impossible  to 
determine  the  amount  used  at  any  given  time.     The  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company  estimates  that  660 
cubic  feet  per  second  is  at  times  required  for  this  purpose.     If  it  be 
determined  that  water  used  for  sluicirg  ice  must  be  included  in  the 
amount  covered  by  the  permit,  the  mid-winter  electrical  output  of 
this  company  will  be  still  further  curtailed. 

14.  The  maximum  output  of  this  company  during  the  week  pre- 
ceding that  in  which  the  examination  was  made  was  64,800  horse- 


8        REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

power,  while  the  average  of  the  maximum  weekly  loads  since  October, 
1905,  was  73,000  horsepower. 

15.  The  company  in  its  statement  includes  a  list  of  contracts  for 
furnishing  power  in  which  the  optional  amounts  aggregate  167,000 
horsepower.     Of  this  amount   102,550  horsepower  has  been  called 
and  is  now  in  use.     These  contracts  cover  the  output  of  both  this 
plant   and  that   of  the  Canadian  Niagara  Power  Company.     The 
amount  called  for  represents  the  sum  of  the  maximum  amounts  of 
power  used  by  their  tenants.     These  peak  loads  never  occur  simul- 
taneously, and  the  actual  peak  electrical  load  generated  up  to  date 
by  the  American  and  Canadian  plants  combined  has  been  about 
85,000  horsepower. 

16.  The  books  of  this  company  show  an  investment  in  power  plant 
of  $13,500,000.     This  amount  is  largely  in  excess  of  what  it  would 
cost  to  reproduce  it,  as  it  is  evident  from  the  investments  now  being 
made  on  the  Canadian  side.     It  is  also  evident  from  the  estimate  of 
$7,000,000  given  as  the  amount  required  to  increase  the  capacity  of 
the  plant  to  the  statutory  limit — that  is,  200,000  effective  horse- 
power.    This  large  investment,  $135  per  horsepower  developed,  is 
partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  this  company  was  the  pioneer 
in  this  method  of  utilizing  the  power  of  Niagara  Falls,  but  it  can  not 
fairly  be  said  to  be  due  to  investments  made  with  the  object  of  dou- 
bling the  capacity  of  the  plant.     The  intake  is  probably  larger  than 
necessary  for  the  development  of  100,000  horsepower,  but  the  rest  of 
the  plant  was  designed  for  that  amount.     Notwithstanding  this  large 
investment,  the  books  of  the  company  show  that  its  net  earrings, 
after  paying  interest  on  its  bonded  debt  and  all  other  fixed  charges, 
now  amount  to  9  per  cent  on  its  outstanding  capital  stock  of  over 
$4,000,000. 

17.  This  company  is  entitled  by  reason  of  its  contracts  to  the  full- 
est consideration  that  is  now  possible  under  the  law — i.  e.,  a  permit 
for  the  diversion  of  8,600  cubic  feet  per  second.     Such  a  permit  will 
practically  limit  the  company  to  its  present  output  and  will  not  allow 
any  growth,  but  if  this  company  is  allowed  to  receive  from  the  Cana- 
dian  Niagara  Power   Company  the  amount   recommended,  60,000 
electrical  horsepower,  the  normal  development  of  the  two  companies 
considered  as  one  will  not  be  seriously  interfered  with. 

THE    NIAGARA    FALLS     HYDRAULIC     POWER    AND    MANUFACTURING 

COMPANY. 

18.  This  company  was  chartered  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
York  in  1878,  and  subsequently,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  known  as  chapter  968,  laws  of  1896,  its  rights  were 
confirmed.     In  this  confirmatory  act  the  company  was  limited  and 
restricted  to  the  use  of  "such  quantity  of  water  as  may  be  drawn  by 
means  of  the  hydraulic  canal  of  said  company  when  enlarged  through 
its  entire  length  to  a  width  of  100  feet  and  to  a  depth  and  slope  suffi- 
cient to  carry  at  all  times  a  maximum  uniform  depth  of  14  feet  of 
water."     This  limitation  is  more  or  less  indefinite,  but  the  capacity  of 
such  a  channel  has  been  computed  to  be  9,500  cubic  feet  per  second 
without  material  diminution  of  the  head. 

19.  The  canal  leaves  the  Niagara  River  about  1  mile  above  the 
Falls  and  extends  through  the  city  to  a  point  about  one-half  mile 
below  the  Falls,  where  the  power  houses  of  the  company  are  situated. 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA   FALLS.        9 

20.  It  is  being  widened  and  deepened  to  the  maximum  authorized 
dimensions.     The  widening  down  to  the  water  surface  has  been  com- 
pleted, except  at  two  points,  where  work  is  now  in  progress.     A  great 
deal  of  work  has  also  been  done  toward  giving  it  a  uniform  depth  of  14 
feet  throughout  the  width  of  100  feet,  but  this  work  has  not  been 
completed. 

21.  The  company  disposes  of  its  power  in  three  ways.     First,  it 
sells  water  to  six  corporations,  who  develop  power  with  their  own 
machines.     This  water  is  used  under  heads  varying  from  50  to  125 
feet,  with  an  average  head,  considering  the  quantities  used  at  each 
elevation,  of  about  90  feet,  or  less  than  one-half  of  the  maximum 
effective  head.     The  amount  of  water  so  furnished  is  computed  to  be 
1,332  cubic  feet  per  second.     In  power  house  No.  2  (No.  1  being  obso- 
lete), situated  on  the  river  bank  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  the  company 
develops  32,000  mechanical  horsepower,  using  for  the  purpose  2,011 
cubic  feet  of  water  per  second  under  an  effective  head  of  200  feet.     Of 
this  amount  27,368  mechanical  horsepower  are  sold  to  customers,  who 
convert  it  into  electrical  power  by  the  use  of  generators  attached  to 
the  power  company's  turbines.     The  remaining  power  developed  in 
power  house  No.  2  is  converted  into  and  sold  as  electrical  power.     For 
several  years  past  the  company  has  been  engaged  in  the  further 
development  of  its  water  power,  and  now  has  under  construction  a 
forebay  capable  of  furnishing  sufficient  water,  when  the  canal   has 
been  widened  and  deepened  to  the  extent  authorized  by  law,  to 
develop  practically  100,000  additional  horsepower.     As  stated  above, 
much  of  the  necessary  enlargement  work  on  the  canal  has  been  com- 
pleted, the  greater  part  of  the  excavation  for  the  power  house  itself 
has  been  completed,  the  forebay  is  under  construction,  and  intakes 
leading  to  the  penstocks,  with  their  corresponding  gates  and  valves, 
are  being  installed  for  the  complete  development. 

Of  the  amount  to  be  developed  in  power  house  No.  3,  36,000  horse- 
power is  for  use  of  the  Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company,  a  contract  for 
its  sale  having  been  entered  into  on  the  20th  day  of  November,  1905. 
For  developing  this  amount  there  will  be  required  about  2,400  cubic 
feet  of  water  per  second.  As  the  conditions  laid  down  by  the  act  of 
Congress  have  been  complied  with  so  far  as  this  additional  develop- 
ment is  concerned,  it  is  recommended  that  the  necessary  permit  be 
issued.  In  the  statement  furnished  by  the  company  as  to  the  water 
now  in  use,  there  is  included  660  cubic  feet  per  second  for  sluicing 
debris  and  ice.  It  is  questionable  whether  this  amount  should  be 
included  in  that  for  which  a  permit  is  considered  to  be  necessary.  Such 
use  is  intermittent,  and  it  is  practically  impossible  to  determine  the 
amount  used  at  any  given  time.  If  the  diversion  of  water  for  this 
purpose  does  not  require  a  permit,  this  company  is  entitled  under  the 
law  to  a  permit  for  5,743  cubic  feet  per  second,  being  the  amount  now 
actually  in  use  and  contracted  to  be  used  in  factories  in  process  of  con- 
struction. If  the  water  used  for  sluicing  ice  and  debris  must  be 
included  the  permit  should  be  for  6,403  cubic  feet  per  second. 

22.  The  settlement  of  this  question  will  not  affect  the  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company,  but  will  affect  the 
output  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company. 

23.  The  investment  represented  by  the  plant  of  the  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company  is  $5,600,000.     This 
includes  $1,400,000  expended  or  obligated  for  work  on  the  canal  and 


10       EEPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA   FALLS. 

in  connection  with  power  house  No.  3.  It  is  estimated  that  $1,500,000 
additional  will  be  required  for  completing  the  canal  and  power  house 
No.  3. 

24.  While  the  granting  of  a  permit  to  this  company  for  the  diver- 
sion of  6,400  cubic  feet  per  second  will  enable  it  to  meet  its  contract 
obligations,  it  will  not  permit  it  to  take  the  full  advantage  of  the 
investment  already  made  nor  allow  for  any  growth.     The  investment 
that  will  be  rendered  useless  is  roughly  estimated  at  $290,000  for  the 
canal  and  $360,000  for  power  house  No.  3. 

INDUSTRIES  USING  WATER  FOR  POWER  PURPOSES  DERIVED  FROM  ERIE 
CANAL  AT  OR  NEAR  LOCKPORT,  N.  Y.,  AND  AT  MEDINA,  N.  Y. 

25.  In  1826  the  State  of  New  York  leased  to  Richard  Kennedy  and 
Junius  H.  Hatch  so  much  of  the  waters  of  the  Erie  Canal  as  could  be 
spared  from  the  canal  at  the  head  of  the  locks  at  Lockport  at  an 
annual  rental  of  $200.     The  lease  referred  to  was  perpetual  and  in 
in  1856  it,  or  the  principal  part  of  the  rights  under  it,  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  Lockport  Hydraulic  Company,  which  has  since  then 
operated  the  lease.     The  lease  provides  that  the  water  so  used  shall 
be  discharged  into  the  lower  level  at  such  place  and  in  such  manner 
as  the  State  canal  commissioners  shall  from  time  to  time  deem  most 
advisable  for  the  security  of  the  canal  and  for  the  convenience  of  the 
navigation  thereon. 

26.  In  an  investigation  of  this  matter  made  in  July  by  the  secretary 
of  the  American  section  of  the  International  Waterways  Commission 
it  was  developed  that  the  arrangement  of  tunnels  in  Market  street 
near  Exchange   street   was   such   that   the  water   drawn  from   the 
hydraulic  race  could  find  its  outlet  either  into  the  canal  or  through 
the  culvert  to  the  mill  pond  and  eventually  down  Eighteenmile  Creek, 
thus  making  it  impossible  to  determine  what  portion  of  the  water 
supplied  to  these  mills  is  permanently  diverted  from  the  canal,  though 
it  is  understood  that  as  a  rule  it  is  all  returned  to  the  canal.     In  the 
application  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  War  by  the  Lockport  Hydraulic 
Company  the  amount  of  water  used  by  its  tenants  and  delivered  to 
the  lower  level  is  stated  to  be  approximately  500  cubic  feet  per  second, 
whereas  Mr.  Henry  A.  Van  Alstyne,  New  York  State  engineer  and 
surveyor,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  350  cubic  feet  per  second 
is  the  amount  taken  from  the  upper  level  and  returned  to  the  lower 
level  of  the  canal.     In  a  subsequent  letter  from  the  attorney  for  the 
Lockport  Hydraulic  Company  it  is  learned  that  the  amount  named 
in  the  application  represents  the  maximum  quantities  covered  by  the 
company's  leases,  and  further  that  it  includes  the  amount  of  water 
required  to  operate  the  machinery  of  the  Holly  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany's plant  not  now  in  actual  operation,  but  which  was  used  for 
more  than  twenty  years  prior  to  1904,  and  which  then  developed  150 
horsepower. 

27.  In  addition  to  the  industries  which  obtain  their  water  through 
the  Lockport  Hydraulic  Company  there  are  a  number  of  large  manu- 
facturing plants  being  operated  at  the  city  of  Lockport  by  power  pro- 
duced from  the  surplus  water  of  the  canal  spilled  from  the  canal 
below  the  locks  and  used  successively  in  the  progress  of  the  water 
down  the  channel  of  Eighteenmile  Creek.     The  use  of  the  water 
spilled  from  the  lower  level  of  the  canal  is  not  covered  by  any  contract 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        11 

with  the  State  of  New  York,  and  it  is  understood  that  the  State  of 
New  York  derives  no  revenue  from  it.  Furthermore  the  State  engi- 
neer and  surveyor,  Mr.  Henry  A.  Van  Alstyne,  protests  against  the 
granting  of  any  permit  by  the  United  States  to  parties  using  water 
spilled  from  the  canal,  on  the  ground  that  it  will  impose  an  obligation 
on  the  State  of  New  York  to  furnish  the  amount  of  water  covered  by 
the  permit,  an  obligation  which  does  not  now  exist. 

28.  To  supply  losses  due  to  evaporation  and  leakage  it  will  proba- 
bly be  necessary  under  any  circumstances  to  pass  a  certain  amount  of 
water  around  the  locks  from  the  upper  level  to  the  lower  level,  so  that 
the  amount  so  transferred  does  not  appear  to  have  any  particular 
bearing  on  the  subject  of  this  investigation.     The  real  question  to  be 
determined  is  the  amount  of  water  that  is  taken  from  the  canal  for 
power  purposes  and  not  returned  thereto. 

29.  Keliable  gaugings  made  under  the  direction  of  the  State  engi- 
neer and  surveyor  of  the  State  of  New  York  show  that  the  average 
amount  of  water  flowing  eastward  in  the  Erie  Canal  in  the  rock  cut 
at  the  city  of  Lockport  above  all  points  of  diversion  of  water  for 

Eower  is  805  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  that  the  flow  in  the  canal 
elow  the  locks  at  Lockport  and  below  all  points  where  water  is 
diverted  for  power  or  other  purposes  is  612  cubic  feet  per  second,  so 
that  there  is  diverted  from  the  canal  in  the  city  of  Lockport  193  cubic 
feet  per  second.  This  includes  both  the  water  diverted  for  power 
and  the  water  passing  over  the  canal  spillway. 

,  30.  As  all  water  used  at  Lockport,  whether  permanently  diverted 
from  the  canal  or  whether  transferred  from  one  level  to  a  lower  level 
of  the  same  canal,  is  brought  from  Lake  Erie  in  a  waterway  con- 
structed and  paid  for  entirely  by  the  State  of  NewT  York,  it  would 
seem  that  any  permit  granted  by  the  United  States  for  the  diversion 
of  water  from  the  Erie  Canal  should  be  granted  not  to  the  individual 
users,  but  rather  to  the  State  of  New  York.  The  same  principle  is 
followed  in  the  case  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  and  the 
Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company,  each 
of  which  owns  its  intake  canal  and  has  tenants  taking  water  there- 
from, though  the  permit  is  granted  for  the  full  amount  to  the  owner 
of  the  intake  canal. 

31.  Conflicting  information  has  been  received  concerning  the 
amount  of  Lake  Erie  water  that  is  taken  from  the  Erie  Canal  by  the 
spillway  and  gates  at  Medina,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Franchot,  the  superintend- 
ent of  public  works,  State  of  New  York,  stated,  under  date  of  July 
17,  that  he  believed  the  amount  of  water  fed  into  the  canal  from  Oak 
Orchard  Creek  and  Genesee  River  was  practically  equal  to  the 
amount  abstracted  from  the  canal,  while  Mr.  Bond,  the  chairman  of 
the  advisoiy  board  of  consulting  engineers,  State  of  New  York,  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  the  Oak  Orchard  feeder  supplies  in 
low  years  only  10  cubic  feet  per  second,  while  the  amount  abstracted 
is  about  175  cubic  feet  per  second.  Assuming  the  latter  information 
to  be  more  nearly  correct,  the  maximum  amount  of  Lake  Erie  water 
diverted  from  the  canal  at  this  point  is  165  cubic  feet  per  second. 
The  total  amount  of  Lake  Erie  water  that  is  permanently  diverted 
from  the  Erie  Canal  at  times  of  minimum  flow  in  the  feeder  is  there- 
fore 193  plus  165,  or  358  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  it  is  recommended 
that  a  permit  for  this  amount  be  issued  to  the  State  of  New  York. 


12       EEPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

32.  If  it  be  determined  that  the  amount  of  water  occasionally  used 
for  sluicing  debris  and  ice  must  be  included   in  any  permits  that 
are  granted,  the  interested  parties  are,  in  my  opinion,  entitled  under 
the  law  to  permits  for  diversion  as  follows: 

Cubic  feet 
per  second. 

Niagara  Falls  Power  Company 8,  600 

Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company 6, 403 

State  of  New  York 358 

33.  Descriptions  of  the  power  plants  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  and  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company  in  greater  detail  than  is  given  in  the  body  of  the  report 
are  appended  hereto,  marked  Appendix  K  and  Appendix  L.     They 
were  prepared  by  Mr.  Earl  Wheeler,  electrical  engineer,  who  assisted 
in  the  examination. 

Very  respectfully,  CHARLES  W.  Kurz, 

Captain,  Corps  of  Engineers. 
Brig.  Gen.  A.  MACKENZIE, 

Of  lief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A. 


APPENDIXES. 


APPENDIX  I. 
STATEMENT   OF   THE    NIAGARA   FALLS    POWER   COMPANY. 

[Before  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  the  iratter  o'  the  Niarara  F  lls  Power  Coirpany  for  a  permit  for 
the  diversion  of  water  in  the  United  States  from  the  Niagara  River.] 

In  reply  to  your  letter  under  date  of  July  23, 1906,  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company 
submits  the  following  items  of  information: 

(1)    CAPITAL  INVESTED  IN   POWER  PLANTS,  $15,469,974.92. 

This  amount  includes  an  investment  of  substantially  $2,000,000  in  lands  used  by  the 
company  for  manufacturing  sites  for  the  location  of  power  tenants  and  for  the  location 
of  its  power  plants.  A  statement  in  such  detail  as  is  possible  is  submitted  herewith. 

(2)    EXTENT   TO    WHICH   PLANTS    ARE    IN    ACTUAL    USE. 

(a)  Power  house  No.  1,  with  a  capacity  of  50,000  horsepower;  all  in  use. 
(6)  Power  house  No.  2,  with  a  capacity  of  55,000  horsepower;  all  in  use. 

(c)  The  hydraulic  power  plant  of  the  International  Paper  Company,  with  a  capacity 
of  8,600  horsepower,  substantially  all  in  use. 

(d)  The  hydraulic  power  pumping  plant  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Water  Works  Com- 
pany, with  a  capacity  of  at  least  500  horsepower,  substantially  500  horsepower  of 
which  is  in  use. 

The  plants  named  in  c  and  d  are  parts  of  the  power  development  made  by  the  Niagara 
Falls  Power  Company,  and  the  application  herein  to  the  Secretary  of  War  was  made  in 
behalf  of  the  said  power  tenants,  as  well  as  in  behalf  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Com- 
pany and  its  other  power  tenants. 

(3)    THE   AMOUNT   OF  CUBIC  FEET   OF  WATER  ACTUALLY  IN   USE,   8,600  CUBIC  FEET  PER 

SECOND. 

(See  report  of  International  Waterways  Commission,  S.  Doc.  242,  sec.  9,  p.  5; 
sec.  30,  p.  11.) 

(4)    AMOUNT    OF   ELECTRICAL   POWER   ACTUALLY   GENERATED. 

The  amount  of  electrical  power  actually  generated  by  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  is  substantially  90,000  electrical  horsepower  maximum.  In  addition  thereto 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA   FALLS.        13 


substantially  9,000  horsepower  in  the  form  of  hydraulic  power  is  generated  by  its  said 
power  tenants,  operating  under  its  rights  for  power  development. 

(5)    CONTRACTS  MADE  FOR  THE  FURNISHING   OF  POWER,    WITH  THE  DATES  WHEN  SUCH 

CONTRACTS    WERE    MADE. 

The  following  contracts  are  now  in  force  between  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company 
and  its  power  tenants: 


Tenant. 

Date  of  con- 
tract. 

Horsepower 
subject  to 
call. 

Acetylene  Manufacturing  Co 

Apr    29  1903 

100 

Acheson  Siloxuon  Articles  Co. 

Dec.     1  1905 

80 

Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Light  and  Power  Co  

July     l,1904a 

2,000 

Carborundum  Co  

May     l,1903o 

10,000 

Castner  Electrolytic  Alkali  Co 

May  13,1901a 

8  200 

Cataract  Consumers  Brewery  

May     2,  1904 

200 

Cataract  Power  and  Conduit  Co  

June    1,1890 

50  000 

Composite  Board  Co 

June    2  1902 

200 

Development  and  Funding  Co  

June    1,1905 

6,500 

Eler-trical  Lead  Reduction  Co 

June    1  1900 

500 

Francis  Hook  and  Eye  and  Fastener  Co  

Jan.     1,  1900 

10 

International  Acheson  Graphite  Co 

May     1,  1904o 

3  200 

International  Paper  Co  

Mar.    7,  1896 

8,100 

International  Railway  Co.  (North  Tonawanda) 

Dec.   30,1905a 

8,800 

International  Railway  Co.  (Niagara  Falls) 

do.o 

1  500 

Lockport  Paper  Co  

do  

2,400 

Natural  Food  Co 

Feb.     1,  1901 

2,500 

Niagara  Electro-Chemical  Co  

Jan.     1,1896 

3,400 

Niagara  Research  Laboratories     . 

Apr.  30,1903 

500 

Niagara  River  Manufacturing  Co 

June    1,  1905 

5  000 

Niagara  Tachometer  and  Instrument  Co  

Feb.   16,1906 

15 

Niagara  Falls  \\  ater  Works  Co.  (hydraulic  power) 

Oct.     1,  1896 

500 

Niagara  Falls  Water  Works  Co.  (electric  power) 

do 

50 

Norton  Erne  rv  Wheel  Co  

Jan.    15,1906a 

3,400 

Oldbury  Electro-Chemical  Co 

Dec.     1  1898 

Do  

Mar.     1,  1899 

3,000 

Ozone  VanLlin  Co 

July     1,1902 

100 

Phosphorus  Compounds  Co  

Apr.  30,1903 

100 

The  Pittsburgh  Reduction  Co. 

May     l,1905a 

Do 

July  20  190t>6 

9  500 

Ramapo  Iron  Works  .    • 

Oct.     1,1903 

800 

Roberts  Chemical  Co 

May     1  1900 

500 

Suburban  Power  Co  

Feb.     7,  1906 

75 

Tonawanda  Power  Co 

J  une    1,  1898 

10  000 

Union  Carbide  Co 

Nov     1  1898 

25  000 

Total 

166  740 

Add  amount  used  by  this  company  in  and  about  its  plant,  substantially 

1,000 

Total  

167,  740 

Renewal. 


Letter  confirming  use  under  contract. 


Of  the  above  amount  of  power  subject  to  call  under  executed  contracts  about  102,550 
horsepower  already  has  been  called  and  now  is  in  use.  A  statement  in  detail  of  the 
amount  of  power  now  used  by  each  of  the  above  companies  is  given  on  on  pages  4  and 
of  this  company's  printed  statement,  dated  July  3,  1906,  and  filed  with  the  Secretary 
of  War  on  or  about  the  llth  day  of  July,  1906. 

The  above  amounts  of  power  subject  to  call  under  the  aforesaid  contracts  and  the 
amounts  of  power  now  in  use,  set  forth  in  the  eaid  statement,  are  amounts  deliverable 
or  delivered  at  the  plants  of  the  respective  tenants.  If  the  maximum  demands  of  all 
tenants  should  occur  simultaneously,  it  would  be  necessary  to  add  thereto  an  average 
of  at  least  5  per  cent  in  order  to  compute  the  amount  of  power  which  must  be  generated 
in  the  plants  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  or  transmitted  from  Canada  to 
make  such  delivery. 

(6)    CHARTERS. 

The  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  was  incorporated  and  derives  its  corporate 
rights  and  powers  under  the  terms  of  enactments  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  to  wit,  chapter  83  of  the  laws  of  1886,  as  amended  or  enlarged  by  (1) 
chapter  489  of  the  laws  of  1886;  (2)  chapter  109  of  the  laws  of  1889;  (3)  chapter  253 
of  the  laws  of  1891;  (4)  chapter  513  of  the  laws  of  Ib92;  (5)  chapter  477  of  the  laws 
of  1893.  A  printed  copy  of  the  charter  will  be  found  in  the  aforesaid  statement  here- 
tofore made  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  pages  13  to  26,  inclusive. 


14        REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

•     (7)    STATUTORY    POWERS. 

See  the  charter  of  the  company,  pages  13  to  26,  of  said  statement  to  the  Secretary 
of  War. 

(8)    EXTENT  OP  HORSEPOWER  WHICH  UNDER    CHARTER  OR  STATUTORY  POWER  COMPANY 

MAY  PRODUCE. 

The  company  as  riparian  owner  of  about  2|  miles  of  the  American  shore  of  the 
Niagara  River  and  as  owner  by  purchase  from  the  State  of  New  York  of  all  of  the 
adjacent  lands  under  water,  with  the  concession  or  consent  of  all  other  interested 
riparian  owners  already  obtained,  is  entitled  to  divert  the  water  of  the  Niagara  River 
for  the  purpose  of  the  production  of  power  to  any  extent  not  interfering  with  the 
practical  navigation  of  the  stream. 

By  the  express  terms  of  its  charter,  constituting  a  contract,  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  is  authorized  and  empowered  by  the  State  of  New  York  to  take  and  use  the 
waters  of  the  Niagara  River  at  any  points  on  or  opposite  to  any  riparian  land  owned 
by  the  company  to  the  extent  required  for  the  proper  operation  of  its  authorized 
works  during  the  continuance  of  such  works,  provided  that  nothing  contained  in  the 
acts  of  the  legislature  concerning  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  shall  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  authorize  it  to  take  from  the  Niagara  River  more  water  than  shall  be 
sufficient  to  produce  200,000  effective  horsepower. 

(9)    THE    AMOUNT    OP   ACTUAL    CONSTRUCTION    COMPLETED. 

The  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  has  completed  the  construction  of  (1)  its  plant 
No.  1,  containing  10  generating  units  of  substantially  5,000  horsepower  capacity  each; 
(2)  its  plant  No.  2,  containing  11  generating  units  of  substantially  5,500  horsepower 
capacity  each;  (3)  four  power-transmission  lines  to  the  city  of  North  Tonawanda, 
three  of  which  extend  to  the  city  of  Buffalo;  (4)  its  tunnel  No.  1,  used  as  the  tailrace 
for  its  power  houses  Nos.  1  and  2  and  for  the  said  plants  of  the  International  Paper 
Company  and  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Water  Works  Company;  (5)  its  inlet  canal  from 
the  Niagara  River,  designed  for  a  power  development  additional  to  that  of  power 
houses  Nos.  1  and  2;  (6)  its  various  step-up  and  other  transforming  stations;  (7)  other 
accessory  and  appurtenant  apparatus  and  parts. 

In  addition  thereto,  the  International  Paper  Company,  a  tenant  company,  upon 
the  riparian  lands  above  referred  to,  under  rights  granted  by  lease  by  the  Niagara 
Falls  Power  Company,  has  constructed  a  plant  for  the  production  of  substantially 
8,600  horsepower  in  the  form  of  hydraulic  power.  The  water  for  the  operation  of 
this  plant  is  diverted  from  the  inlet  canal  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  and 
is  discharged  into  the  latter  company's  tailrace  tunnel. 

(10)    THE    AMOUNT    OP    MONEY   INVESTED   IN    PARTIALLY    COMPLETED   PLANTS. 

The  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company,  in  pursuance  of  its  original  plan  for  the  con- 
struction of  plants  on  its  lands  for  the  development  of  200,000  horsepower,  has  invested 
moneys  to  a  large  amount,  in  addition  to  that  actually  required  for  its  first  develop- 
ment, which  amount,  however,  is  not  kept  separate  on  its  books  of  account  from  the 
amount  properly  applicable  to  the  completed  plants.  The  plan  of  the  company  did 
not  contemplate  a  division  of  its  total  200,000  horsepower  construction,  and  therefore 
there  was  no  reason  separately  to  state  the  amounts  properly  applicable  to  its  various 
plants  constructed  or  to  be  constructed  for  the  development  of  200,000  effective  horse- 
power. (See  printed  statement  to  Secretary  of  War,  Clause  X,  correcting  a  typo- 
graphical error  in  the  first  line  where  the  intended  date  1890  is  printed  "1900.") 

(11)    THE   AMOUNT   OF   MONEY   NECESSARY  TO    COMPLETE   PLANTS. 

It  is  estimated  that  substantially  $7,000,000  more  will  be  required  to  complete  the 
entire  plant  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  for  the  production  on  its  lands  at 
Niagara  Falls.  N.  Y.,  of  200,000  effective  horsepower  and  distribution  of  same  to 
points  of  power  use.  In  other  words,  for  about  $7.000,000  the  company  can  approxi- 
mately double  its  present  output,  for  which  thus  far  it  has  expended  $15,419,974.92. 
The  profit  upon  the  undertaking  lies  principally  in  this  second  and  uncompleted 
tunnel.  Though  at  work  since  1889,  the  company  has  not  yet  declared  or  paid  any 
dividend. 

(12)   THE   AMOUNT   OF   ELECTRICAL   CURRENT   NOW   BEING   FURNISHED. 

Substantially  94,000  electrical  horsepower,  to  which  must  be  added  substantially 
8,500  horsepower  in  the  form  of  hydraulic  power.  (For  details  see  pp.  4  and  5  of 
the  said  statement  to  the  Secretary  of  War.) 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        15 

(13)    THE  AMOUNT  OF  POWER  WHICH  CAN  BE  REASONABLY  FURNISHED  WITH  THE  PLANT 

UNDER    CONSTRUCTION. 

The  present  plants  are  now  being  operated  substantially  to  full  capacity,  and  already 
are  supplemented  at  times  by  substantially  16,000  horsepower  transmitted  from  the 
plant  of  the  Canadian  Niagara  Power^Company  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

(14)   THE  AMOUNT  OF  POWER  THAT  CAN  BE  SOLD  IN  THE   EXISTING  MARKETS. 

In  addition  to  166,670  horsepower  now  subject  to  call  under  contracts  already 
executed,  the  details  of  which  are  given  above  in  reply  to  question  5,  there  are  now 
in  various  states  of  negotiation  contracts  under  consideration  under  the  terms  of  which, 
if  consummate  d,  an  additional  amount  of  power  aggregating  at  least  75,000  horsepower 
will  become  subject  to  call. 

The  market  for  electrical  power  at  Niagara  Falls,  N.  'Y.,  has  constantly  increased 
and  is  now  increasing.  Since  the  first  delivery  of  power  by  this  company  in  1895,  there 
has  been  no  time  when  this  company  has  not  had  under  consideration  bona  fide  appli- 
cations for  power.  Many  of  these  applications  involving  requirements,  in  single 
instances  for  10,000  horsepower  and  upward,  from  time  to  time  the  company  has  been 
obliged  to  refuse,  in  some  cases  on  account  of  terms  demanded  and  in  others  because  it 
could  not  have  power  available  in  the  quantities  and  within  the  time  required.  Since 
the  company's  first  delivery  of  power  it  has  negotiated  and  executed  contracts  every 
year  calling  for  the  delivery  of  considerable  additional  amounts  of  power. 

The  use  of  power  by  the  present  power  tenants  located  on  the  manufacturing  lands 
of  this  company  has  steadily  increased  from  the  time  of  the  first  construction  of  their 
respective  plants.  In  some  cases  such  use  within  the  past  eight  years  has  quadrupled 
and  is  still  increasing. 

The  management  of  the  company  has  believed  and  now  has  every  reason  to  continue 
its  belief  that  the  market  for  power  for  delivery  at  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  and  in  the  city 
of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  is  such  that  before  the  works  embraced  in  the  company's  entire  plan 
can  be  fully  completed,  this  company  will  easily  be  able  to  and  will  sell  the  entire 
output  of  its  American  plants  for  200,000  horsepower,  and  in  addition  thereto  at  least 
121 ,000  horsepower  from  the  Canadian  Niagara  Power  Company.  It  is  to  be  understood 
that  the  said  amount  of  121,000  horsepower  represents  substantially  one-half  the 
expected  aggregate  output  of  the  Canadian  company's  original  plans  for  power  devel- 
opment in  the  Queen  Victoria  Niagara  Falls  Park,  and  which,  as  soon  as  there  is  an 
adequate  market  in  Canada  for  the  power,  it  expects  to  complete. 

(15)    ALL  OTHER  CIRCUMSTANCES  TENDING  TO  REFLECT  ON  THE  EFFECT  WHICH  A  LIMITA- 
TION BY  A  PERMIT  WILL  HAVE  ON  THE  COMPANY'S  BUSINESS. 

Herewith  is  submitted  a  copy  of  the  company's  balance  sheets  in  full  detail,  at  June 
30,  1906,  and  a  comparative  income  account  a  for  the  month  and  for  the  six  months 
ended  June  30,  1906,  and  1905.  A  refusal  of  the  permits  sought  would  render  substan- 
tially valueless  the  assets  of  this  company,  which  it  will  be  observed  by  its  income 
statement  is  earning  in  full  the  fixed  charges  on  all  its  funded  debt  chargeable  to  the 
development  on  the  America  side,  to  wit:  On  $13,000,000,  and  in  addition  a  surplus 
applicable  to  dividends  on  $4,100,700,  its  issued  capital  stock,  at  the  rate  of  over  9  per 
cent  per  annum,  though  as  before  observed  no  dividend  has  ever  been  paid. 

The  fact  that  in  addition  to  its  $4  180  700  capital  stock,  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  has  already  issued  its  funded  obligations  to  the  amount  of  substantially 
$18  000  000.  and  has  already  authorized  an  additional  issue  of  $3  000  OCO  more  than 
$300.000  of  which  has  already  been  advanced  by  it  and  additional  expenditures  already 
incurred  by  the  Canadian  company  for  the  completion  of  the  parts  of  its  said  plant 
No.  1.  named  in  reply  to  2  of  its  statement «  to  Captain  Kutz  of  even  date  herewith, 
which  expenditures  will  be  met  by  the  American  company,  all  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  an  output  of  power  on  the  American  and  Canadian  sides  of  the  Niagara  River 
sufficient  to  enable  it  to  fill  contracts  for  power  in  the  United  States  which  it  has 
entered  into  or  has  under  negotiation,  and  that  this  action  was  taken  in  pursuance  of 
a  well-defined  and  comprehensive  plan  made  by  it  fifteen  years  ago  on  the  faith  of 
its  common-law  rights  as  a  riparian  owner  and  of  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  New  \ork 
and  Province  of  Ontario,  the  owners  of  the  bed  of  the  Niagara  River,  should  be  suffi- 
cient warrant  for  the  absolute  good  faith  of  that  company,  and  the  great  damage  that 
would  be  caused  by  a  refusal  by  the  Secretary  of  "War  of  the  permit  recently  authorized 
by  the  Congress  and  applied  for  by  this  company.  In  connection  therewith  should 
be  considered  the  damage  that  would  be  suffered  by  the  public  who,  in  good  faith, 

a  Not  printed. 


16     REPORT  ON  'WATER-POWER  SITUATION  AT  NIAGARA  FALLS. 

became  investors  in  and  now  are  the  holders  of  $18,000,000  of  bonds  or  debentures 
made  or  guaranteed  by  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company. 

The  Niagara  Junction  Railway  Company  (substantially  all  the  capital  stock  of 
which  is  owned  by  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company)  has  an  investment  in  its  road 
and  equipment  of  substantially  $500,000.  The  Niagara  Development  Company 
(substantially  all  the  capital  stock  of  which  is  owned  by  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company)  has  an  investment  in  its  residence  property  and  lands  in  the  city  of  Niagara 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  of  approximately  $1.285.000.  The  Tonawanda  Power  Company  (more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  capital  stock  of  which  is  owned  by  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company)  has  an  investment  in  plant  and  distributing  system  and  other  property 
of  substantially  $460,000.  The  Cataract  Power  and  Conduit  Company  (more  than 
one-half  the  capital  stock  of  which  is  owned  by  the  Niagara  Fails  Power  Company) 
has  an  investment  in  plant  and  distributing  system  and  other  property  in  the  city  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  of  substantially  $3,000,000.  The  power  tenants  of  the  Niagara  Falls 
Power  Company  have  an  investment  of  upward  of  $7.000.000  in  plants  and  other 
property,  mostly  on  the  lands  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company.  The  refusal  of 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  grant  the  permit  now  asked  for  would  affect  disastrously  and 
destructively  all  of  the  investments  referred  to  in  this  paragraph. 

The  company  desires  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that,  at  a  cost  to  itself  of  several 
hundred  thousands  of  dollars,  from  the  beginning  it  has  spared  no  expense  to  prevent 
any  marring  of  the  natural  beauty  of  the  great  cataract  or  its  surroundings. 

Attention  is  also  called  to  the  facts  stated  at  length  in  the  said  statement  of  this 
company  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  War  on  or  about  July  11,  1906. 

The  above  information  is  submitted  by  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company,  which, 
however,  respectfully  protests  against  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  Congress 
approved  June  29, 1906,  "For  the  control  and  regulation  of  the  waters  of  Niagara  River, 
for  the  preservation  of  Niagara  Falls,  and  for  other  purposes, "  in  so  far  as  such  pro- 
visions prohibit  or  are  inconsistent  with  the  present  and  continued  exercise  by  the 
Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  of  its  just  and  lawful  right  during  the  continuance  of 
its  works,  to  divert  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  River  and  to  use  the  same  for  the  creation 


of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Dated  at  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  this  27th  day  of  July,  1906. 

THE  NIAGARA  FALLS  POWER  COMPANY, 
By  PHILIP  P.  BARTON,  General  Manager. 
Capt.  CHARLES  W.  KUTZ, 

Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army. 


APPENDIX  J. 

STATEMENT    OF   THE    NIAGARA    FALLS    HYDRAULIC    POWER   AND 
MANUFACTURING    COMPANY. 

THE  NIAGARA  FALLS  HYDRAULIC  POWER 

AND  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  July  28,  1906. 

DEAR  SIR:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  July  24,  relative  to  the  proposed  investigation 
of  the  operations  of  this  company,  in  which  you  asked  for  specific  reply  in  writing  to 
the  several  points  of  information  asked  for  in  the  communication  of  the  Secretary 
of  War,  dated  July  14,  1906,  we  beg  to  submit  the  following: 

1.  The  capital  which  has  been  invested  in  all  the  power  plants?    The  investment 
represented  by  the  plant  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing 
Company  is  $5,644,802.43. 

2.  The  extent  to  which  these  plants  are  in  actual  use?    This  company  actually 
uses  39,868  horsepower. 

3.  The  amount  of  cubic  feet  of  water  actually  in  use?    Four  thousand  and  three 
cubic  feet  per  second. 

4.  The  amount  of  electrical  power  actually  generated?    About  28,800  horsepower. 

5.  The  contracts  made  by  these  companies  for  the  furnishing  of  power? 

6.  The  date  when  the  contracts  were  made? 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  customers  of  this  company,  and  gives  the  amounts  of 
their  contracts,  and  the  dates  upon  which  they  were  made: 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER   SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        17 


Name  of  customers. 

Date  of  contract. 

Electrical 
horse- 
power. 

Mechani- 
cal horse- 
power. 

Cliff  Paper  Co 

May  3,  1892 

2  600 

Niagara  Falls  Milling  Co.: 
Niagara  mill  

May  1,  1900... 

900 

do 

1  000 

Niagara  Wood  Paper  Co 

January  1,  1880 

'250 

City  waterworks  for  power 

September  1  1878 

1  000 

Cataract  Citv  Milling  Co  .               .           .... 

August  1,  1878 

440 

Pettebone-Cataract  Paper  Co 

do 

1  525 

Do             „  

December  27,  1904.          

276 

Total 

7  991 

Furnished  from  station  No.  Z. 
Pittsburgh  Reduction  Co 

August  2,  1895 

17,980 

17  ggO 

February  2,  1899  

December  27,  1899 

National  Electrolytic  Co 

August  1,  1904 

3  920 

Renewing  leases: 
September  13,  1897 

April  1,  1899  

November  30,  1898 

Acker  Process  Co  

June  14,  1899  

4  630 

Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Co 

March  4,  1898 

1  250 

Oneida  Community  (Limited) 

September  9,  1880 

300 

New  York  State  Reservation 

May  2,  1896 

20 

New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  R.  R.  Co  

March  30,  1901  .  . 

15 

Niagara  Waterproofing  Co 

November  1,  1902 

10 

Gassler's  Niagara  Falls  Bakery  

Previous  to  January  E  1904. 

4 

Cataract-Journal  Co 

do  . 

8 

Upper  &  Upper 

do 

3 

C  .T\Uen 

do. 

20 

Gazette  Publishing  Co 

do 

27 

Gluck  Realty  Co  

...do.. 

7 

Max  \mberg 

do 

3 

Niagara  Falls  post-office 

do 

1 

Butler  Grocery  Co 

..     .do. 

1 

W   E   Bateman 

do 

1 

Dr.  W.  R.  Campbell    . 

do. 

1 

Philpott  &  Leuppie 

do 

5 

Cataract  Machine  and  Auto  Co  

do. 

2 

H   R  Converse 

do 

2 

F.  W.  Oliver  Co  

...do  .. 

13 

Miller  &  Brundage 

do 

8  5 

J   V   Banks 

do 

1 

Catarar-t  Haircloth  Co  . 

.      do. 

59 

Suspension  Bridge  Bottling  Works 

do 

1 

E.  J.  Hahn  

do.. 

2 

Wicker  Lumber  Co..  . 

do 

35 

Niagara  Falls  Brewing  Co  

do  

123 

Brown  Printing  Co  . 

do 

2 

McGarigle  Machine  Co  

...do... 

11 

Niagara  Falls  Haircloth  Co 

do. 

40 

Carl  Steinbrenner 

do 

30 

R.  G.  Hardv.               

do. 

1 

Bell  Telephone  Co 

do 

2 

Forty-second  Separate  Co  

do  

1 

Phillip  Keller..   . 

May  1,  1904 

10 

A.  Hartman 

Previous  to  January  1  1904 

6 

J.A.Weber  

do 

1 

Niagara  River  Elevator  Co. 

do 

5 

Niagara  Foundry  Co  

...do... 

8 

F.  E.  Dean  Co  

do 

20 

Central  Machine  Co  . 

do 

5 

Crick  Bros 

do 

19 

Cataract  Stamping  Co  

September  1,  1904 

1 

Frontier  Co^l  and  Ice  Co 

September  23  1905 

4 

Niagara  Pattern  Works 

January  1  1906 

3 

True  Artificial  Limb  Co  

November  1  1905 

1 

Carter-Crume  Co.  (Limited) 

August  1   1902 

125 

Palace  Laundrv  Co 

\ugust  1   1904 

27 

Cataract  Ice  Co  

December  1,  1903 

75 

Wm   A.  Rogers  (Limited) 

January  1   1904 

508 

Niagara  Gorge  R   R 

May  1  1897 

1  000 

Niagara  Falls  Ice  Manufacturing  and  Storage  Co 

Julv  1   1906 

50 

Cliff  Paper  Co 

No  contract 

67 

Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing 

Own  use 

625 

4  097 

For  station  No  2 

31  877 

Total  horsepower  

39  868 

17231—07- 


18       REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

7.  The  charter  of  the  company  and  the  statutory  powers?  We  give  below  copy  of 
the  charter  of  this  company  as  a  corporation,  and  the  copy  of  the  act  of  the  legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York  confirming  our  rights. 

LICENSE. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK, 

Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  ss: 

Whereas  an  application  for  the  formation  of  a  corporation  in  the  class  of  full  liability, 
under  the  corporate  name  of  ''The  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing 
Company"  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  chapter  611,  laws  of  1875,  entitled  "An  act 
to  provide  for  the  organization  and  regulation  otf  certain  business  corporations,"  was 
filed  in  this  office  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1878.  , 

I  therefore  license  and  appoint  Abram  M.  Chesborough,  Jacob  F.  Schoellkopf,  Horace 
Stillman,  Louis  Schoellkopf,  and  James  Frazer  Gluck,  commissioners,  to  open  books 
for  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  such  corporation,  agreeably  to  the  requirements 
of  the  said  act. 

Witness  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  at  the  city  of  Albany, 
this  twenty-third  day  of  April,  1878. 

[SEAL.]  GEO.  Moss, 

Deputy  Secretary  of  State. 

The  legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1896  passed  an  act  known  as  chapter  968 
of  the  laws  of  1896,  which  reads  as  follows: 

"The  people  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  senate  and  assembly,  do  enact 
as  follows: 

"SECTION  1.  The  right  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing 
Company  to  take,  draw,  use,  and  lease  and  sell  to  others  to  use,  the  waters  of  Niagara 
River  for  domestic,  municipal,  manufacturing,  fire,  and  sanitary  purposes,  and  to 
develop  power  therefrom  for  its  own  use  and  to  lease  and  sell  to  others  to  use  for  manu- 
facturing, heating,  lighting,  and  other  business  purposes  is  hereby  recognized,  declared, 
and  confirmed,  and  the  exercise  thereof  by  said  company,  its  successors  and  assigns,  to 
take  and  to  draw  water  from  Niagara  River  for  use  and  disposal  to  others  to  use  for  the 
purposes  above  specified,  and  for  the  development  of  power  for  use  and  for  disposal  to 
others  to  use,  for  purposes  above  mentioned,  is  hereby  limited  and  restricted  to  such 
quantity  of  water  as  may  be  drawn  by  means  of  the  hydraulic  canal  of  said  company 
when*  enlarged  through  its  entire  length  to  a  width  of  100  feet  and  to  a  depth  and  slope 
sufficient  to  carry  at  all  times  a  maximum  depth  of  fourteen  feet  of  water,  provided 
that  exercise  by  said  company  of  the  rights  hereby  declared  and  confirmed  shall  not 
impair  the  practical  navigation  of  Niagara  River." 

8.  The  extent  of  horsepower  which  under  their  charters  or  statutory  powers  they 
might  produce?    One  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
one  horsepower. 

9.  The  amount  of  actual  construction  completed?    Excluding  work  done  on  canal 
proper,  $1,836,407.44. 

10.  The  amount  of  money  invested  in  partially  completed  plants?    The  investment 
of  this  company  in  partially  completed  plants,  including  outstanding  contracts,  is 
$2,013,772.68. 

11.  The  amount  necessary  to  complete  them?    One  million  four  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  thousand  nine  hundred  and  forty-five  dollars. 

12.  The  amount  of  electrical  current  now  being  furnished?    The  electrical  current 
furnished  by  this  company  represents  12,500  horsepower.     The  remainder  of  the  power 
furnished  by  this  company  is  in  the  form  of  mechanical  power  and  amounts  to  27,368 
horsepower. 

13.  The  amount  that  can  be  reasonably  furnished  with  the  plant  under  construction? 
One  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-one  horsepower. 

14.  The  amount  that  can  be  sold  in  the  existing  markets  by  these  companies?    This 
company  can  sell  all  it  can  producey-137,991  horsepower. 

15.  All  other  circumstances  tending  to  reflect  on  the  effect  which  a  limitation  by  a 
permit  will  have  upon  their  business?    The  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manu- 
facturing Company's  plant  dates  from  1846,  when  surveys  were  made  and  plans  pub- 
lished preliminary  to  its  construction.     A  contract  for  its  construction  was  entered 
into  in  December,  1892.     Work  upon  its  construction  was  begun  in  1893.     It  was  first 
made  of  a  width  of  30  feet  and  a  depth  of  from  7  to  10  feet,  the  excavation  being  prin- 
cipally through  solid  rock,  involving  large  expense.     Up  to  1877  only  one  mill  had  been 
erected  for  use  of  power  generated  from  water  flowing  in  this  canal.     The  cost  of  the 
property  up  to  this  time  is  estimated  at  $750,000.     In  October,  1877,  the  canal  and  75 
acres  of  land  for  mill  sites  were  conveyed  to  Jacob  F.  Schoellkopf  and  Abram  M.  Ches- 
borough.    The  interest  of  Chesborough  was  soon  acquired  by  Jacob  M.  Schoellkopf, 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        19 

who  at  once  began  the  work  of  developing  the  canal  and  water  power.  The  firm  of 
Schoellkopf  &  Mathews  erected  a  large  flouring  mill,  at  a  cost  of  several  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  having  a  capacity  of  1,500  barrels  a  day.  Mr.  Schoellkopf  also  induced 
the  Oneida  Community  to  erect  a  pjant  on  the  property  and  take  a  lease  of  power  for 
ninety-nine  years.  In  1879  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing 
Company  was  organized,  with  a  paid  in  capital  of  $500,000,  to  which  the  canal  and  other 

Sroperty  pertaining  to  it  was  conveyed,  and  this  company  has  since  continued  the 
evelopment  of  the  property  and  enlargement  of  the  canal,  first  making  it  70  feet  in 
width  and  increasing  its  depth  and  has  recently  enlarged  it  to  its  full  width  of  100  feet, 
practically,  throughout  its  entire  length.  The  work  of  widening  will  be  completed 
within  a  few  months. 

In  1896  the  State  of  New  York,  by  legislative  enactment,  confirmed  the  riparian 
rights  of  this  company  to  take  water  from  the  Niagara  River  for  power  purposes,  limit- 
ing it,  however,  to  such  quantity  as  could  be  drawn  through  its  canal  when  widened 
to  its  full  width  of  100  feet  and  made  of  such  depth  and  slope  as  to  carry  at  all  times 
a  uniform  maximum  depth  of  14  feet  of  water,  which  the  engineers  compute  to  be  equal 
to  9,500  cubic  feet  per  second. 

Since  1879  this  company,  relying  on  its  common-law  rights,  as  confirmed  by  statute 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  has  expended  in  and  about  the  purchase  and  improvement 
of  this  canal  and  appurtenances  and  property  the  total  amount  of  its  capital  stock  of 
$500,000,  all  of  its  earnings  in  excess  of  operating  expenses,  amounting  to  $1,216,577.66, 
to  July  1,  1906,  and  in  addition  thereto  the  sum  of  $1,285,901.48  realized  from  the  sale 
of  its  bonds. 

Mr.  Schoellkopf,  for  a  period  of  about  twenty  years,  devoted  his  best  energies  and 
business  sagacity,  in  connection  with  his  partners  and  associates,  to  the  improvement 
and  development  of  this  property  and  died  without  having  received  one  penny  in 
return  for  his  expenditure  of  money,  time,  and  energy  in  the  care  and  management  of 
it.  No  dividends  were  paid  until  1889,  when  1  per  cent  on  the  capital  stock  was  paid, 
and  again  in  1890  1  per  cent  was  paid.  In  1892  the  company  began  and  has  since  con- 
tinued the  payment  of  dividends  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  per  annum. 

The  stock  of  the  company  is  largely  held  by  trustees,  under  Mr.  Schoellkopf's  will, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  children. 

For  a  period  of  nearly  thirty  years  the  men  associated  in  this  company  have  paid 
in  their  money  and  given  valuable  time,  attention,  and  care  to  the  management  of  its 
affairs  in  the  expectation  of  enjoying  in  the  future  the  fruits  of  their  labors  and  expen- 
diture in  and  about  a  business  which  the  legislature  of  New  York  has  declared  to  be 
lawful  and  which  the  courts  of  the  State  had  adjudged  to  belong  to  them. 

They  had  expended  great  sums  of  money,  aggregating  millions,  in  improving  this 
property  in  the  expectation,  born  of  adjudged  ownership  and  legislative  declamation 
of  lawful  right,  of  making  use  of  9,500  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second.  To  this  end 
they  widened  the  canal  to  100  feet  and  increased  its  depth  and  built  bridges  and  power 
houses  and  installed  machinery  and  entered  into  contracts,  one  for  ninety-nine  years, 
one  for  sixty  years,  and  others  for  other  long  periods.  If  they  are  to  be  limited  to  4,000 
cubic  feet  of  water  per  second,  if  their  right  to  use  even  this  amount  is  limited  to  the 
uncertain  term  of  a  revocable  permit  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  be  he  ever  so  just,  then 
this  property,  acquired  and  improved  at  such  great  cost  of  capital,  time,  care,  and 
energy,  will  be  practically  confiscated.  Money,  amounting  to  millions,  already 
expended  in  good  faith,  will  have  been  wasted  unless  this  company  can  be  allowed 
to  take  water  to  the  full  capacity  of  its  canal. 

Manufacturers  who  have  erected  plants  and  made  large  investments  in  the  material 
expectation  of  enlarging  and  extending  their  business  will  be  crippled  and  prevented 
from  material  growth.  What  person  or  company  would  care  to  establish  a  business  of 
any  kind  in  the  face  of  a  constant  menace  that  he  might  at  any  moment,  at  the  will  of  a 
single  officer,  be  prohibited  from  its  continuance?  The  operation  of  this  act  will  simply 
blight  and  destroy  the  manufacturing  enterprise  which  has  done  so  much  in  the  last 
twenty  years  not  only  for  western  New  York,  but  for  the  whole  country.  It  will  not  be 
possible  to  state  "all  circumstances  tending  to  reflect  on  the  effect  which  a  limita- 
tion by  a  permit  will  have  upon  our  business,"  but  we  have  called  attention  to  a 
sufficient  number  to  show  the  damning  and  paralyzing  effect  of  the  recent  legislation. 

16.  Showing  investment  of  largest  plants  supplied  with  power  by  this  company: 

Niagara  Falls  Brewing  Company $400,  000. 00 

Wm.  A.  Rogers  (Limited) 700,  000. 00 

Niagara  Gorge  Railroad  Company 2,  019,  207.  94 

National  Electrolytic  Company 1,  220,  000.  00 

Acker  Process  Company 719,  000.  00 

Oneida  Community  (Limited) 575,  000. 00 

Carter-Grume  Company  (Limited) 2,  000,  000. 00 


20       REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

Central  Machine  Company $30,  000. 00 

Cataract  Ice  Company 70,  000. 00 

Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company 1,  750,  000.  00 

Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 700,  000.  00 

8,183,207.94 

THE  NIAGARA  FALLS  HYDRAULIC  POWER  AND  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 
By  A.  SCHOELLKOPF,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 
Capt.  CHARLES  W.  KUTZ, 

Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army. 


No.  1. 
Real  estate: 

Residence  land $23,  337.  52 

Canal  land  and  improvements 230,  265.  57 

Land  at  north  end  of  city 84,  679.  22 

-    $338,282.31 

Canal  way 723,428.31 

Power  houses  and  other  buildings  and  transmission  lines  completed 

(details  shown  in  No.  9) 1,  615,  604. 44 

Power  house  under  construction: 

Paid $303,373.12 

Work  contracted  for 393,  311. 25 

696,  684.  37 

Cost  of  Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company's  generators  in  station  No.  2 220,  803. 00 

3,  594,  802. 43 

Money  invested  in  canal  previous  to  this  company's  ownership 750,  000. 00 

Interest  on  $1,000,000  average  investment  for  twenty-six  years 1,  300,  000.  CO 

5r  644,  802. 43 

2.  The  extent  to  which  these  plants  are  in  actual  use?    Reply,  39,868  horsepower, 
made  up  as  follows: 

Horse-    Horse- 
Water:  power,    power. 

Cliff  Paper  Company 2,  600 

Niagara  Falls  Milling  Company: 

Niagara  mill 900 

Central  mill 1,  000 

Niagara  Wood  Paper  Company 250 

City  waterworks,  for  power 1,  000 

Cataract  City  Milling  Company 440 

Pettebone-Cataract  Paper  Company 1,  801 

Total  water 7,  991 

Electricity  (station  No.  2) : 

Gassler's  Niagara  Falls  Bakery 4 

Cataract-Journal  Company 8 

Upper  &  Upper 3 

C.  E.  Allen 20 

Gazette  Publishing  Company 27 

Gluck  Realty  Company 7 

Max  Amberg 3 

New  York  State  Reservation 20 

Niagara  Falls  post-office 1 

Butler  Grocery  Company 1 

W.  E.  Bateman 1 

Niagara  Waterproofing  Company 10 

Dr.  W.  R.  Campbell 1 

Philpott  &  Leuppie 5 

Cataract  Machine  and  Auto  Company 2 

H.  R.  Converse 1 

True  Artificial  Limb  Company 1 

F.  W.  Oliver  Co  . .  13 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA   FALLS.       21 

Horse-   Horse- 
Electricity  (station  No.  2)— Continued.  power,   power. 

Miller  &  Brundage 8* 

Jas.  V.  Banks 1 

Cataract  Haircloth  Company 59 

Suspension  Bridge  Bottling  Works 1 

E.  J.  Hahn 2 

Wicker  Lumber  Company 35 

Niagara  Falls  Brewing  Company 123 

Brown  Printing  Company 

McGarigle  Machine  Company 11 

Niagara  Falls  Haircloth  Company 

Carl  Steinbrenner 30 

R.  G.  Hardy 1 

Bell  Telephone  Company 2 

Forty-second  Separate  Company 1 

Phillip  J.  Keller 10 

A.  Hartman 6 

J.A.Weber 1 

Niagara  River  Elevator  Company 5 

Cataract  Stamping  Company 1 

New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  Company 15 

Niagara  Foundry  Company 8 

Frontier  Coal  and  Ice  Company 4 

Niagara  Pattern  Works 3 

F.  E.  Dean  Company 20 

Carter-Crume  Company  (Limited) 125 

Central  Machine  Company 5 

Palace  Laundry  Company 

Cataract  Ice  Company 75 

Crick  Brothers 19 

Wm.  A.  Rogers  (Limited) 508 

Oneida  Community  (Limited) 300 

Niagara  Gorge  Railroad  Company 1,  000 

Cliff  Paper  Company 67 

Niagara  Falls  Ice  Manufacturing  and  Storage  Company 50 

Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company 625 

Total  electricity .• 4, 097 

Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company 17,  980 

National  Electrolytic  Company 3,  920 

Acker  Process  Company 4,  630 

Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 1,  250 

Total  horsepower 39,  868 

3.  The  amount  of  cubic  feet  of  water  actually  in  use?    Reply,  4,003  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

Water:  Horsepower. 

Cliff  Paper  Company 2,  600 

Niagara  Falls  Milling  Company: 

Niagara  mill 900 

Central  mill 1,  000 

Niagara  Wood  Paper  Company 250 

City  waterworks,  for  power 1,  000 

Cataract  City  Milling  Company 440 

Pettebone-Cataract  Paper  Company 1,  801 

Total  water a  7,  991 

Electricity  (station  No.  2): 

Gassler's  Niagara  Falls  Bakery 4 

Cataract-Journal  Company 8 

Upper  &  Upper 3 

C.  E.  Allen 20 

a  Equals  1,332  cubic  feet  per  second. 


22       EEPOBT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

Horse-   llorse- 

Electricity  (station  No.  2)— Continued.  power,   power. 

Gazette  Publishing  Company 27 

Gluck  Realty  Company 7 

Max  Amberg 3 

New  York  State.  Reservation 20 

Niagara  Falls  post-office 1 

Butler  Grocery  Company 1 

W.  E.  Bateman 1 

Niagara  Waterproofing  Company 10 

Dr.  W.  R.  Campbell 1 

Philpott  &  Leuppie 

Cataract  Machine  and  Auto  Company 

H.  R.  Converse 

True  Artificial  Limb  Company 1 

F.  W.  Oliver  Company ]3 

Miller  &  Brundage 8fc 

Jas.  V.  Banks 1 

Cataract  Haircloth  Company 59 

Suspension  Bridge  Bottling  Works 1 

E.  J.  Hahn 2 

Wicker  Lumber  Company 

Niagara  Falls  Brewing  Company 123 

Brown  Printing  Company 2 

McGarigle  Machine  Company 11 

Niagara  Falls  Haircloth  Company 40 

Carl  Steinbrenner 30 

R.  G.  Hardy 1 

Bell  Telephone  Company 

Forty-second  Separate  Company 1 

Phillip  J.  Keller 10 

A.  Hartman 6 

J.  A.  Weber 1 

Niagara  River  Elevator  Company 5 

Cataract  Stamping  Company 1 

New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  Company 15 

Niagara  Foundry  Company  . .  >. 

Frontier  Coal  and  Ice  Company 4 

Niagara  Pattern  Works r 3 

F.  E.  Dean  Company 20 

Carter-Grume  Company  (Limited) 125 

Central  Machine  Company 5 

Palace  Laundry  Company 27 

Cataract  Ice  Company 75 

Crick  Brothers 19 

Win.  A.  Rogers  (Limited). 508 

Oneida  Community  (Limited) 300 

Niagara  Gorge  Railroad  Company 1,  000 

Cliff  Paper  Company 67 

Niagara  Falls  Ice  Manufacturing  and  Storage  Company 50 

Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company 625 

4,097 

Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company 17,  980 

National  Electrolytic  Company 3,  920 

Acker  Process  Company 4,  630 

Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 1,  250 

Total  for  station  No.  2 o31,  877 

Total  cubic  feet  per  second  now  used,  including  660  for  sluicing  debris  and  ice,  4,003. 

4.  The  output  of  station  No.  2  is  31,877  horsepower  of  mechanical  power,  which  at 
an  efficiency  of  90  per  cent  of  the  generators  equals  28,800  horsepower,  while  the 
installed  capacity  of  station  No.  2  in  electrical  generators  is  32,027  horsepower.  The 
power  report  on  June  30  from  station  No.  2  shows  27,656  electrical  horsepower  devel- 
oped. This,  however,  was  about  1,000  less  than  our  largest  output  to  date. 

a  Equals  2.011  cubic  feet  per  second. 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS.        23 

8.  The  capacity  of  canal,  when  enlarged  to  100  feet  in  width  and  14  feet  in 
depth,  is  estimated  at  9,500  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  deducting  the  1,332  cubic  feet 
per  second  used  by  the  mills,  which  represents  7,991  horsepower,  there  would  still  be 
left  8, 168  cubic  feet,  which  would  represent  approximately  130,000  horsepower,  which 
represents  the  present  capacity  of  station  No.  2,  or  31,877  horsepower,  and  the  proposed 
working  capacity  of  station  No.  3,  now  under  construction,  which  in  round  numbers 
is  100,000  horsepower. 

No.  9. 

Transmission  lines $146,  814. 29 

Power  station  No.  2 $674,  898.  69 

Amount  paid  on  contracts Ill,  038. 48 

Amount  unpaid  on  contracts 10,  794. 00 

: 796,  731. 17 

Water-wheel  plant,  station  No.  1,  and  gatehouse,  No.  2 8,  635.  28 

Office  building 13,  423. 70 

Niagara  and  central  mills 650,  000. 00 

1,615,604.44 
Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company's  generators  in  station  No.  2 220,  803. 00 

1,  836,  407. 44 
No.  10. 

Canal  way 723,  428. 31 

Power  house  No.  3: 

Money  expended $303,  373. 12 

Money  on  contracts  let 393.  311. 25 

696,  684. 37 

Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company's  plant: 

Ten  3,540-kilowatt  generators  bought 233.  660. 00 

Buildings  bought 360,  000. 00 

593,  660. 00 


2,  013,  772.  68 

11.  Estimate  of  completion  of  plant,  July  28,  1906. 
Station  No.  3: 

Concrete  above,  8,000  yards,  at  $6 $48,  000 

Erection  of  steel  work  in  forebay  wall '10,  000 

Gate  house  floor  system 13,  500 

Gate  house  steel  superstructure 31,  500 

Gate  house  concrete  sides,  roof,  etc 16,  000 

Gate  house  cranes 10,  000 

Penstocks  steel 64,  000 

Reinforcing  steel  for  penstocks 16,  500 

Concrete  on  penstocks  and  bank 90,  000 

Wire  towers 18,  500 

Elevator  tower 15.  700 

Elevator  cages  and  machinery 14.  500 

Excavation  below  bank,  105,000  cubic  yards  rock,  at  $2 210,  000 

Two  station  cranes 18,  500 

Station  steel  frame 140,  500 

Concrete,  station  No.  3 180,  000 

Seven  water  wheels,  at  $30,000 210,  000 

Two  exciter  wheels,  at  $5,000 10,  000 

Thirteen  governors,  at  $2,000 26  000 

Oiling  systems,  ventilating  systems,  etc 50,  000 

Contingencies 120, 000 

Total,  station  No.  3 1,  313,  200 

For  completion  of  canal  system 135,  745 

1,  448,  945 

12.  Twelve  thousand  five  hundred  horsepower  represents  the  output  of  the  elec- 
trical horsepower  from  station  No.  2,  exclusive  of  the  Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company. 
The  difference  between  this  amount  and  39,868,  the  total  output  of  all  plants  at  this 
time,  represents  27,368  horsepower,  which  is  developed  but  not  delivered  in  the  form 
of  electrical  power. 


24       EEPOET    ON    WATEE-POWEE   SITUATION    AT    NIAGAEA   FALLS. 

No.  16. 

Niagara  Falls  Brewing  Company $400,  000.  00 

Wm.  A.  Rogers  (Limited) 700,000.00 

Niagara  Gorge  Railroad  Company 2,  019,  207.  94 

National  Electrolytic  Company 1,220,000.00 

Acker  Process  Company 719,  000. 00 

Oneida  Community  (Limited) 575.  000. 00 

Carter-Grume  Company  (Limited) 2,000,000.00 

Central  Machine  Company 30,  000. 00 

Cataract  Ice  Company 70,  000. 00 

Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company 1,750,000.00 

Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 700.  000. 00 

8, 183,  207.  94 


APPENDIX  K. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    POWER    PLANT  OF    THE    NIAGARA  FALLS  POWER 
COMPANY,  BY  EARL  WHEELER,  ELECTRICAL  ENGINEER. 

The  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company's  stations,  which  are  situated  about  1  mile 
above  the  Falls,  on  the  American  side,  take  the  water  from  the  river  by  means  of  an 
intake  canal,  whose  direction  is  at  an  angle  somewhat  less  than  90°  with  the  upstream 
side.  From  this  canal  the  water  is  led  to  two  separate  power  houses,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  canal,  through  vertical  steel  penstocks  to  vertical  turbines,  from  which  the 
water  discharges  into  the  open  tailrace  at  the  bottom  of  the  wheei  pit,  from  which  the 
water  is  taken  by  a  discharge  tunnel  to  the  river  below  the  Falls,  at  a  point  under  the 
Upper  Steel  Arch  Bridge. 

THE    HEADWORZS. 

The  intake  canal,  which  is  1,250  feet  long,  varies  in  width  from  250  feet  at  its  mouth 
to  ]00  feet  at  its  extreme  end.  From  this  intake  canal  there  are  constructed  21  inlets 
through  submerged  arch  curtain  walls  to  the  inner  forebay.  The  inner  forebay, 
screens,  and  inlets  are  covered  by  an  additional  structure  to  the  main  power  houses,  but 
adjacent  to  them  on  their  canal  sides.  The  racks  are  steel  grillage  set  on  inclined 
guides.  Immediately  in  the  rear  of  the  racks  are  the  bell  mouths  of  the  penstocks, 
which  are  7£  feet  in  diameter  each.  There  is  installed  at  each  penstock  a  vertical 
electrically  operated  gate. 

THE    WHEEL   PIT,  POWER   HOUSE    NO.  1. 

Power  house  No.  1  has  been  erected  upon  the  north  side  of  the  inlet  canal.  It  has 
a  wheel  pit  427.7  feet  in  length,  18  feet  in  width,  and  an  average  depth  of  178.5  feet 
below  the  power-house  floor.  The  pit  connects  with  the  discharge  tunnel,  making 
an  obtuse  angle  with  the  upstream  side  thereof.  The  turbines  are  mounted  in  this 
pit  37  feet  from  the  bottom. 

THE    WHEEL   PIT,  POWER   HOUSE    NO.  2. 

The  wheel  pit  of  this  power  house,  which  is  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  inlet 
canal,  is  466  feet  in  length,  17|  feet  in  width,  and  had  an  average  depth  of  177.4  feet 
below  the  power-house  floor.  An  extension  of  675  feet  connects  the  open  tailrace 
tunnel  of  this  power  house  to  the  main  discharge  tunnel. 

DISCHARGE   TUNNEL. 

The  discharge  tunnel,  which  is  6,800  feet  long  from  the  wheel  pit  No.  1  to  the  lower 
river,  is  of  the  horseshoe-shaped  cross  section,  21  feet  high  and  18  feet  10  inches  maxi- 
mum width.  It  is  lined  throughout  its  entire  length  with  several  layers  of  vitrified 
brick  laid  in  cement. 

POWER   HOUSE    NO.  1. 

The  structure  of  this  power  house  is  of  cut  limestone,  and  is  suitable  for  covering 
11  units.  The  west  end  is  made  temporary,  so  that  it  can  be  extended.  There  are 
installed  in  this  power-house  10  Fourneyon  twin  turbines,  each  of  5,000  horsepower, 


REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA   FALLS.        25 

located  141 J  feet  below  the  power-house  floor.  The  outside  diameter  of  the  runner 
is  6  feet  3  inches.  It  is  estimated  that  these  turbines,  which  are  without  draft  tubes, 
work  under  an  effective  head  of  136  feet.  They  were  designed  by  Faesch  &  Piccard, 
of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  and  built  by  the  I.  P.  Morris  Company,  of  Philadelphia. 
The  generators  are  directly  connected  to  the  turbines  by  hollow  vertical  shafts  38 
inches  in  diameter.  Each  generator  has  a  nominal  capacity  of  3,750  kilowatts,  and 
is  wound  to  deliver  2,200  volts,  2-phase  current,  at  25  cycles.  These  generators  are 
of  \he  external  revolving  field  type  and  revolve  at  250  revolutions  per  minute.  They 
were  manufactured  by  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company,  of 
Pittsburg,  Pa. 

SWITCH   BOARDS. 

In  this  power  house  are  installed  two  controlling  switch  boards,  each  of  which  con- 
trols and  distributes  the  output  of  five  generators.  The  main  generator  and  feeder 
switches  are  pneumatically  controlled. 

POWER   HOUSE    NO.  ^2. 

This  structure  is  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  canal  and  is  built  of  cut  limestone. 
The  east  end  is  occupied  by  the  general  offices  of  the  company.  In  this  power  house 
are  installed  eleven  5,500  horsepower  turbines  of  the  Francis  single-runner,  inward-flow 
type,  with  draft  tubes.  They  were  designed  by  Escher  Weiss  &  Co.,  of  Zurich, 
Switzerland,  and  built  by  the  I.  P.  Morris  Company,  of  Philadelphia.  The  effective 
head  is  144  feet. 

THE    GENERATORS. 

This  station  is  equipped  with  eleven  3,750-kilowatt,  2,200-volt  2-phase  alternators, 
giving  current  at  25  cycles.  Six  of  these  are  of  the  external  revolving  field  type, 
while  the  other  five  are  of  the  internal  revolving  field  type.  The  methods  of  driving 
and  support  are  similar  to  those  used  in  wheel  pit  No.  1.  The  entire  electrical  equip- 
ment was  designed  and  built  by  the  General  Electric  Company,  of  Schenectady. 

SWITCH    BOARD. 

The  switch-board  installation  of  this  plant  is  arranged  so  that  from  a  single  oper- 
ating switch  board,  the  entire  output  of  the  eleven  machines  is  controlled  and  dis- 
tributed. The  switch-board  installation  was  designed  and  built  by  the  General 
Electric  Company  under  specifications  of  the  power  company's  engineers. 

TRANSFORMER   HOUSE. 

The  transformer  station  consists  of  20  General  Electric  transformers,  each  having  a 
capacity  of  937  kilowatts,  transforming  2.200-volt  2-phase  current  to  22.000  volts, 
3-phase.  There  are  also  6  Westinghouse,  oil-insulated,  water-cooled,  step-up  trans- 
formers, each  having  a  capacity  of  1,875  kilowatts,  which  are  used  to  transform  2,200- 
volt  2-phase  current  to  22  000,  3-phase. 

There  are  also  8  oil-insulated,  water-cooled  Westinghouse  transformers  which  have 
a  capacity  of  1,875  kilowatts  each,  which  are  used  to  transform  2.200  to  11.000  volts, 
3-phase.  and  are  used  to  supply  circuit  to  the  most  distant  customers.  These  trans- 
formers have  a  total  capacity  of  15.000  kilowatts,  and  the  entire  output  is  delivered 
to  the  Union  street  substation.  The  total  capacity  of  the  installed  transformers  is 
45,000  kilowatts,  or  60.000  electrical  horsepower. 

The  present  transformer  house  was  designed  and  has  foundation  complete  to  receive 
12  more  transformer  units,  each  of  1,875  kilowatts  capacity,  making  a  total  of  22.500 
kilowatts.  When  these  transformers  are  installed,  this  transformer  plant  will  have  a 
total  capacity  of  67,500  kilowatts,  or  90,000  electrical  horsepower. 

THE    UNION    STREET    SUBSTATION. 

Between  the  step-up  transformer  house  and  the  Union  street  substation  there  are 
installed  seven  No.  000  lead-covered  cables  operating  at  a  potential  of  11,000  volts. 
The  distance  between  the  step-up  transformer  plant  and  the  Union  street  substation 
is  10,700  feet.  In  the  substation  are  at  present  installed  eight  1,875  kilowatts,  oil- 
insulated,  water-cooled  transformers,  General  Electric  make,  designed  to  transform 
from  ]  1,000  volts,  3-phase,  to  2.200  volts.  2-phase.  This  station  has  a  transforming 
capacity  at  present  of  15,000  kilowatts,  or  20,000  horsepower. 


26       REPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

The  station  was  built  with  the  intention  of  increasing  its  capacity.  The  north  end 
is  of  a  temporary  structure.  In  the  portion  of  the  building  which  has  been  completed 
there  are  three  additional  transformers  of  the  same  capacity  as  those  already  installed. 
The  building  capacity  is  20, 625  kilowatts,  or  27,500  horsepower. 

LONG-DISTANCE   TRANSMISSION   LINE. 

The  long-distance  service  consists  of  two  pole  lines  from  the  step-up  transformer 
house  to  the  terminal  house  in  Buffalo,  which  is  a  distance  of  approximately  24  miles. 
On  these  two  pole  lines  are  installed  two  3-phase  copper  conductor  transmission  cir- 
cuits, each  conductor  having  a  cross  section  of  350  000  circular  mils  and  one  alum- 
inum circuit  which  has  a  cross  section  of  500,000  circular  mils,  which  is  equivalent 
to  the  carrying  capacity  of  each  of  the  copper  circuits.  In  addition  to  each  of  these 
lines  to  Buffalo  there  is  installed  another  aluminum  circuit  supported  on  the  same 
poles  between  the  step-up  transformer  plant  and  the  section  house  in  North  Tcna- 
wanda,  which  is  about  15  miles,  consisting  of  three  aluminum  conductors  of  £00  000 
circular  mils  cross  section  each.  Each  of  these  lines  has  a  nominal  capacity  of  10,000 
horsepower. 

THE  TERMINAL  STATION  OP  THE  CATARACT  POWER  AND  CONDUIT  COMPANY  IN  BUFFALO. 

In  this  terminal  station  are  installed  nine  2,250-kilowatt,  oil-insulated,  water-cooled 
transformers,  arranged  to  transform  from  22,000  volts,  3  phase,  to  11,000  volts,  3  phase. 
There  is  also  an  additional  spare  transformer  of  the  same  capacity.  The  primaries 
on  the  transformers  are  connected  directly  to  two  sets  of  bus  bars,  and  on  the  secondary, 
or  11,000-volt  side  of  the  step-down  transformers,  there  are  panels  corresponding  to 
the  three  groups  of  step-down  transformers.  These  are  connected  directly  to  bus 
bars  by  selector  switches.  From  the  bus  bars  there  are  10  feeders  supplying  through 
disconnecting  switches  on  the  circuit  breakers.  This  terminal  station  is  capable  of 
having  installed  one  more  bank  of  6,750  kilowatts  capacity.  The  installed  apparatus 
has  a  total  capacity  of  27,000  horsepower,  while  the  building  has  a  capacity  of  36,000 
horsepower. 

The  new  terminal  station  of  the  Cataract  Power  and  Conduit  Company,  which  is 
being  constructed,  is  designed  for  an  ultimate  capacity  of  50,000  horsepower,  but  under 
the  present  plans  there  are  to  be  installed  apparatus  that  will  aggregate  25,000  horse- 
power; that  is  to  say,  there  are  to  be  installed  at  the  present  time  6  transformers  of 
3,000  kilowatts  each,  which  will  transform  from  22,000  volts,  3  phase,  to  11,000  volts, 
3  phase.  The  building  is  being  constructed  for  the  total  capacity  of  50,000  horsepower. 

The  current  for  this  new  substation  is  to  be  taken  from  the  plant  of  the  Canadian 
Niagara  Power  Company,  which  current  is  to  be  transmitted  by  way  of  Fort  Erie, 
Canada,  crossing  the  river  at  Fort  Erie  over  long  spans.  The  crossing  towers,  however, 
are  being  designed  to  support  four  3-conductor  circuits  of  12,500  horsepower  each. 
There  are  to  be  installed  at  present  two  of  these  circuits. 


APPENDIX  L. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  POWER  PLANT  OF  THE  NIAGARA  FALLS  HYDRAULIC 
POWER  AND  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY,  BY  EARL  WHEELER,  ELEC- 
TRICAL ENGINEER. 

1.  The  general  design  of  this  company  is  for  the  development  of  power  by  canal. 
The  water  is  carried  by  a  canal  (100  feet  in  width,  except  in  a  few  places,  an  ultimate 
depth  of  14  feet,  and  4,400  feet  long)  to  a  hydraulic  basin;  thence  by  short  intakes 
and  vertical  steel  penstocks  to  power  nouses  in  the  gorge  for  electrical  power  develop- 
ment and  by  short  intakes  and  vertical  penstocks  to  turbines  located  in  shafts  in  the 
cliff  for  water  tenants,  the  turbines  operating  under  varying  heads.     The  stations 
for  electrical  power  develpoment  are  designated  as  power  houses  Nos.  2  and  3. 

STATION  NO.  2. 

2.  This  power  house  is  erected  at  the  water's  edge  in  the  gorge,  and  is  so  designed 
that  the  water  is  used  under  a  head  of  200  feet.     The  power  station  is  at  present  a 
structure  170  feet  long  by  100  feet  wide.     The  construction  is  of  stone  and  steel. 


REPORT  ON  WATER-POWER  SITUATION  AT  NIAGARA  FALLS.     27 

ETHE  HEADWORKS. 

3.  From  the  main  hydraulic  basin  there  are  two  inlets  which  supply  water  to  station 
No.  2.     The  first  inlet  is  approximately  even  with  the  neck  of  the  canal.     From  inlet 
No.  1  there  is  installed  a  vertical  steel  penstock  8  feet  6  inches  in  diameter,  which  pen- 
stock carries  the  water  for  the  4  turbines  on  the  north  end  of  the  station.     At  the  south 
end  of  the  hydraulic  basin  is  a  second  inlet  for  station  No.  2.     This  inlet  supplies 
water  to  No.  2  and  No.  3  penstocks,  each  of  which  is  11  feet  in  diameter. 

THB^TURBINES. 

4.  The  turbines,  with  the  exception  of  Nos.  18  and  19,  are  all  double-discharge 
horizontal  Leffel  turbines,  with  capacities  ranging  from  1,650  horsepower  to  2,900 
horsepower.     Each  turbine  drives  a  generator  of  suitable  capacity  on  each  end  of  its 
shaft. 

THE^GENERATORS. 

5.  In  this  power  house  there  are  now  in  operation  15  turbines  connected  to  direct 
and  alternating  current  machines.     The  ratings  of  the  generators  connected  to  the 
turbines  by  number  are  outlined  below. 

6.  Turbines  Nos.  4,  5,  and  6,  which  are  of  1,650-horsepower  capacity  at  250  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  each  drive  2,560-kilowatt,  300-volt,  direct-current  Westinghouse 
generators. 

7.  Turbine  No.  7  is  of  1,900-horsepower  capacity  at  300  revolutions  per  minute,  and 
drives  2,560-kilowatt,  550-volt,  direct-current  General  Electric  generators.     There  is 
also  belted  to  this  turbine  a  110-horsepower  booster  and   a  200-kilowatt,  135- volt, 
direct-current  generator.     Both  the  booster  and  the  generator  were  made  by  the 
General  Llectric  Company. 

8.  Turbine  No.  8  is  of  2,800  horsepower,  running  at  257  revolutions  per  minute,  and 
is  connected  to  one  875-kiknvatt,  175- volt, 'direct-current  double-commutator  General 
Electric  generator  and  a  1,000-kilowatt,  11,000-volt,  3-phase  Bullock  alternator. 

9.  Turbine  No.  9  is  of  2,900-horsepower  capacity,  running  at  250  revolutions  per 
minute.     It  has  directly  connected  on  one  end  of  its  shaft  one  875-kilowatt,  175-volt, 
direct-current,  double-commutator  General  Electric  generator  and  on  the  other  end  a 
1,000-kilowatt,    325-volt,    direct-current,  double-commutator  General  Electric  gen- 
erator. 

10.  Turbine  No.  10  is  of  2,900-horsepower  capacity,  running  at  250  revolutions  per 
minute,  and  drives  two  1,000-kilowatt,  325-volt,  double-commutator  General  Electric 
generators. 

11.  Turbines  Nos.  11  and  12  are  each  of  2,300-horsepower  capacity,  running  at  250 
revolutions  per  minute,  and  each  is  directly  connected  to  two  750-kilowatt,  300  volt, 
direct-current  Westinghouse  generators. 

12.  Turbine  No.  13  is  of  2,900-horsepower  capacity,  running  at  250  revolutions  per 
minute,  and  has  at  one  end  of  its  shaft,  directly  connected,  a  1,000-kilowatt,  11,000- 
volt,  3-phase  Bullock  alternator  and  on  the  other  end,  directly  connected,  a  700-kilo- 
watt,  2,200-volt,  single-phase  Walker  alternator.     The  11,000-volt  alternator,  in  con- 
nection with  the  11,000-volt  alternator  on  turbine  No.  8,  generates  3-phase  current, 
which  is  transmitted  by  triplex,  lead-covered  cables  to  the  transformer  station  located 
on  the  top  of  the  cliff.     In  this  station  the  voltage  of  a  portion  of  the  current  is  reduced 
to  2,200  volts  for  transmission  and  use  in  the  vicinity.     This  building  also  serves  as  a 
terminal  station  for  the  overhead  transmission  lines,  carrying  power  at  high  voltage  to 
the  company's  factory  property  at  the  north  end  of  the  city. 

13.  Turbines  Xos.  14  and  15,  each  of  which  is  2,900-horsepower  capacity,  at  250 
revolutions   per  minute,  each  operates  two  1.000-kilowatt,  300-volt,  Westinghouse 
generators.  -^  ^3 

14.  Turbines  Nos.  16  and  17  are  of  2.300-horsepower  capacity  each,  running  at  250 
revolutions  per  minute.     Each  has  directly  connected  to  it,  two  750-kilowatt,  300-volt, 
direct-current  Westinghouse  generators. 

15.  Turbine  No.  18  is  a  250-horsepower  horizontal  wheel,  made  by  J.  M.  Voith.  of 
Heidenheim,  Germany.     It  drives  a  150-kilowatt,  125-volt,  direct-current  generator, 
which  supplies  the  exciting  current  for  the  3-phase  alternators.     This  set  runs  at  600 
revolutions  per  minute. 

16.  Turbine  No.  19  is  of  550-horsepower  capacity,  running  at  475  revolutions  per 
minute,  and  drives  a  400-kilowatt,  550-volt,  direct-current  generator. 


28       EEPORT    ON    WATER-POWER    SITUATION    AT    NIAGARA   FALLS. 

SWITCH   BOARD. 

17.  The  switch  board  for  power  house  No.  2  is  about  100  feet  long  and  is  located  on  a 
gallery  that  runs  along  the  cliff  side  of  the  station.     It  has  32  panels  of  Vermont  marble 
on  which  are  installed  the  operating  instruments  and  switches  for  the  complete  instal- 
lation.    Switch  board  and  station  wiring  are  of  fireproof  construction  and  the  board  is 
so  arranged  that,  although  there  are  many  different  kinds  of  current  generated  in  the 
station,  a  relay  is  provided  for  every  generator  and  alternator  in  the  station  except  the 
single-phase  alternator. 

STATION    NO.  3. 

18.  Since  the  present  development  does  not  represent  the  full  capacity  of  this  com- 
pany's canal,  it  has  commenced  the  erection  of  an  additional  power  house  of  a  nomi- 
nal rating  of  100,000  horsepower.     This  station  will  be  situated  at  the  water's  edge  in 
the  gorge  north  of  the  present  station.     Its  total  length  when  completed  will  be  350 
feet  and  its  width  90  feet.     The  turbine  and  generator  rooms  are  to  be  separated  by  a 
concrete  wall  extending  the  entire  length  of  the  station. 

THE    HEADWORKS. 

19.  The  intake  of  this  station  has  been  excavated  on  the  cliff  at  the  north  end  of  the 
hydraulic  basin.    At  the  south  end  of  the  extension  is  an  ice  sluiceway  under  construc- 
tion leading  to  the  river  below  through  an  inclined  pen  chute;  also  at  the  south  end  of 
this  extension  there  is  installed  a  cantilever  construction  from  which  will  run  an  elec- 
tric hoist  for  handling  machinery  from  the  railroad  to  the  power  house  below. 

20.  The  design  for  the  intakes  consists  of  steel  gates  and  concrete  bell  mouths  situ- 
ated on  the  west  side  of  the  extension.     There  are  to  be  in  all  13  intakes.     At  the 
mouth  of  each  intake  is  to  be  installed  an  electrically  operated  steel  gate.     From  each 
intake  there  will  be  a  vertical  steel  penstock  9  feet  in  diameter,  leading  to  a  turbine  in 
the  power  house  below. 

21.  The  extension  of  the  hydraulic  basin  is  being  completed  at  the  present  time  for 
the  entire  11  units.     The  cantilever  hoist  construction  and  the  ice  sluiceway  are  com- 
pleted.    The  excavation  for  the  power  house  at  the  water's  edge  is  progressing  for  the 
entire  development. 

THE    TURBINES. 

22.  The  turbines  are  to  be  of  8,000-horsepower  capacity,  single  horizontal  runner, 
double-discharge,  inward-draft  tubes.     Water  will  discharge  out  of  the  draft  tubes  into 
a  bay  beneath  the  generator  room.     On  the  river  side  of  this  bay  is  a  weir  whose  crest  is 
slightly  higher  than  the  top  of  the  draft  tubes.     This  construction  will  aid  in  holding 
the  vacuum  in  the  draft  tubes.     The  turbines  are  situated  in  a  room  separate  from  the 
generators. 

THE    GENERATORS. 

23.  At  present  it  is  decided  that  for  the  first  4  units  there  are  to  be  2  direct- 
current,  double-commutator  generators  for  each  turbine.     These  generators  are  to  be 
furnished  by  the  Pittsburgh  Reduction  Company,  to  whom  the  current  will  be  supplied. 


Pamphlet 
|>-  Binder 

I     Gaylord  Bros..  Ine, 

Stockton,  Calif. 
T.M.  Reg.  U.S.  Pat.  Off. 


R90907 


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